Tickford Bridge

Tickford Bridge is a road bridge begun in June 1810 and completed by September 29th 1810, when the first tolls were charged. The date 1810 is inscribed at the centre of the arch on each side. The bridge was repaired in 1900 and 1976. The initial concept design was by Henry Provis of Paddington, Engineer to the Grand Junction Canal, modified by Thomas Wilson, Engineer of Sunderland, and Rowland Burdon MP. It was cast in iron by Walkers of Rotherham, Yorks, under the direction of William Yates, site engineer for Walkers, who used iron dowels and keys instead of bolts.

The bridge is constructed of cast iron with sandstone abutments. The abutments are built of local sandstone and include piers at either end, coping, and a band at the base of the parapet. The cast-iron bridge features six segmental compound arched trusses with circular designs, each cast in eleven voussoir segments joined with mortice and tenon joints, spanning 17.68 metres (58 feet) and linked horizontally by a diaphragm beam. The road-plate deck is set in continuous lugs and is carried by cambered beams which are joined to the arches by diminishing circles of square section bars in the spandrels. Cast-iron railings run along each side of the carriageway, with four decorative stanchions between the stone end piers, and a raised lamp standard on each side at the centre. The bridge was strengthened in 1900 with the addition of wrought-iron plates to the two centre bays, and in 1976, a reinforced concrete deck on plastic foam was placed over the bridge.

The bridge’s construction was authorised by an Act of Parliament in June 1809 for the replacement of road bridges at Newport Pagnell. Tickford Bridge is one of only three surviving bridges – two in the UK – from a notable series of cast-iron bridges cast by Walker and Co. The first was constructed in 1801 in Spanish Town, Jamaica, which is similar in design but in poor condition. The second is an estate bridge at Stratfield Saye in Hampshire, built in 1802, which has cast-iron arches of a similar design using circles but with straight divisions in the lower parts. It’s narrower with simpler cast-iron balustrading, and also stretches along the abutments.

Tickford Bridge represents a significant example of early cast-iron engineering, surviving in near its original condition and carrying modern traffic. It is considered a monument of national importance in the history of civil engineering and the use of cast iron.