Telford Footbridge - St Katharine's Dock, London, UK
N 51° 30.414 W 000° 04.238
30U E 703284 N 5710265
The footbridge, designed by Thomas Telford, used to span the entrance to the East basin in St Katharine's Dock. It is now retired with a new bridge having taken its place.
Waymark Code: WMK9Z2
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/07/2014
Views: 4
The bridge used to open to allow ships to pass through. The two halves met in the middle of the entrance and were mounted on rails so they could be drawn back.
A plaque, next to one section of the bridge, tells us:
This footbridge originally spanned the entrance to the East Dock. A drawing of the bridge dated October 1829 is signed by Thomas Rimmes(?) who was Thomas Telford's Resident Engineer from November 1828. On 27 October 1829 the Dock Company accepted the lender of John Lloyd, a millwright of Westminster, to build the wrought iron footbridge for £447. To allow ships to enter the East Dock the two halves of the bridge were withdrawn into recesses in the masonry. The bridge remained at the dock entrance until 1994, and is now only a link with the early period of St Katharine Docks, but is also a rare survivor of this type of structure.