Photo: the bridge's 160-year-old iron plates were individually and carefully lifted out of their positions. Photo: David Prudames. © 24 Hour Museum.
Work began yesterday in west London on dismantling an iron bridge built by the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel, but only 'discovered' 10 months ago.
As the first iron plates were lifted away Dr Steven Brindle, the English Heritage Inspector of Ancient Monuments who 'found' it, described his elation at having unearthed an engineering treasure.
"It’s a once in a lifetime discovery to have found something completely unknown by someone so important as Brunel," he said.
It was while leafing through the great Victorian engineer’s notebooks that Dr Brindle came across designs and records of load-testing for the cast iron beams of a Paddington canal bridge, dating from 1838.
Photo: it was p.96 from volume two of Brunel's notebooks that revealed the existence of this 'lost' engineering gem. Photo: David Prudames. © 24 Hour Museum.
Further research revealed that hidden within a modern brick road bridge in West London was the earliest of only eight surviving Brunel iron bridges in the country.
Yet, as Dr Brindle explained, the champagne had to go on ice when he found out that Westminster Council were planning to demolish it and build a £62 million five-lane road bridge in its place.
"What added an extra dimension was to find that actually it’s to be demolished in two month’s time and you’ve got to do something about it," he said.
That was in May 2003, the structure had already been surveyed and contracts were about to be let to demolish it. The Council’s plan was to turn a three-lane road bridge, notorious as a traffic bottleneck, into a five-lane route providing access to Paddington Station and helping traffic flow.
Photo: the bridge was so well engineered that the iron plates were held in place without any bolts or screws. Photo: David Prudames. © 24 Hour Museum.
A series of negotiations between English Heritage and Westminster Council followed and demolition plans were halted to allow the safe dismantling and removal of the bridge.
As Dr Brindle explained, a deal was struck that meant, in his words, "we wouldn’t press for listing if they would engage with us in dismantling the bridge."
The result was that the planned works weren’t held up and a historical treasure was saved for future generations.
"The rescue of this outstanding piece of our industrial heritage is a triumph for partnership and problem solving," said English Heritage Chief Executive, Dr Simon Thurley.
Photo: the bridge spans the Grand Union Canal near Paddington Station in west London. Photo: David Prudames. © 24 Hour Museum.
"This unique bridge will be saved and, at the same time, all the planned public benefits will go ahead. Everyone involved has worked tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcome and we especially commend Westminster Council for their positivity and innovation."
English Heritage now intends to generate enough cash to rebuild the bridge elsewhere in the capital so that it can continue to be used by Londoners.
"I’m very confident given the importance of its designer that we can find a good site to rebuild," said Dr Brindle, "and that London will get this back as a pedestrian bridge."
While the bridge is significant as the earliest of eight surviving Brunel iron bridges, it is unique in that no other bridge built to its typically original design exists anywhere in the world.
Photo: Dr Steven Brindle's "once in a lifetime discovery,". Photo: David Prudames. © 24 Hour Museum.
"It isn't the biggest bridge in the world," said Dr Brindle, "but this is Brunel building an iron bridge probably for the first time."
Journalist, Broadcaster and Brunel enthusiast, Jeremy Clarkson described the find as "a sensational discovery."
"It is astonishing to think that in a city like London such an extraordinary part of our industrial past could lie unknown and undiscovered," he said.
"Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s bridges were the bridges that took us from wattle huts and horses to the world we live in today. The fact that he made such an impact on the world in so many different ways, during his short lifetime, is a testament to his genius and an inspiration to us all."
Want to find out how hard it was to get around in Brunel's time? Click on this link to visit our children's site and have a go at Move It! the new interactive game produced by our Show Me team and Thinktank, the museum of science and discovery in Birmingham.
