Menai Bridges
The Menai Suspension Bridge
The raging channelled twenty-foot tidal torrents of the Menai Strait have been both foe and friend to Anglesey people. In ancient times, invaders and plunderers would think twice before crossing.
For those heading for the mainland with their flimsy sea craft, the journey would often result in tragedy and loss of life. These were, and are, treacherous waters.
The task of devising and building a bridge, spanning 579 feet (176.5m) from shore to shore, and allowing sailing ships to sail through the strait unhindered, was given to the son of a poor Scots shepherd – one Thomas Telford. The Menai Suspension Bridge was to be his greatest challenge and finest achievement.
The stones were hewn from nearby Penmon quarries, and shipped to site by boat. A Shrewsbury foundry produced the ironwork, and building commenced in 1819. The most amazing facet of the challenge was that gangs of 150 men carried out the building, heaving, pushing and pulling. It took seven years to complete, and it remains one of the most evocative sights and monuments to 19th century enterprise and technology.
Twenty-five years later with the expansion of the railways on the mainland, a direct rail linking London to the Irish ferries was muted. Thankfully abandoned was the idea that horses might pull the railway carriages across the old Telford Bridge.
The Britannia Bridge, now much modified and carrying rail and road traffic, was opened on 5 March 1850. Both bridges are world famous landmarks, and the source of inspiration to so many.
Find out more by visiting the bridges exhibition – and see for yourself how the bridges were constructed.