Bridges to the past

Growing-up, home was the Yorkshire town of Middlesbrough, England. The town is set on the banks of the deep River Tees which facilitated development of the area’s heavy industry. Middlesbrough grew rapidly in the Victorian era and although much of the town’s Victorian heritage has suffered neglect and demolition, interesting landmarks can still be found and visited.


The A66, a vital major route through the Middlesbrough conurbation, was built elevated through the heart of the town, within a stone throw of the first and second floor windows of some of the most impressive of the surviving Victorian buildings. The road has obscured, and thus significantly diminished, the apparent beauty of these buildings.

Nevertheless, Middlesbrough, and the surrounding area, are historically fascinating and that history can be sought out and experienced by those who wish to take the time and trouble to seek it out.

Instrumental in the rapid growth of Middlesbrough were the industrialist, Henry Bolckow and his partner, the ironmaster John Vaughan. In fact, Bolckow was to become the town’s first mayor and its first Member of Parliament. Bolckow and Vaughan, set up Middlesbrough’s first iron foundry and rolling mill in 1841. Then, in 1850, the discovery of large iron ore deposits by Vaughan in the nearby Cleveland Hills started the Middlesbrough iron rush. As a result, by 1855 there were 30 blast furnaces operating within 6 miles of the town and by 1875 there were over 100 blast furnaces with an annual iron production of over 2 million tons. Amazingly, a hundred years later in the 1970’s, Middlesbrough had only a single blast furnace producing a massive 3.3 million tons annually.

The company, Dorman Long, which was later destined to be a principle founding company of the nationalized British Steel, acquired Bolckow Vaughan in the 1920’s and diversified into bridge building. When my father was young he completed his electrician apprenticeship at Dorman Long’s works before serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an electrical engineer. After leaving the RAF he again worked at Dorman Long until he was seriously injured in an electrical explosion. Although he eventually made a complete recovery the incident made him determined to change career, a move that eventually led him into marketing early computers, teaching mathematics and, in partnership with my mother, running a micro-clay-craft company called Wainstones Pottery.

Locally, in 1934, Dorman Long built Middlesbrough’s highly celebrated Newport Bridge which is historically listed because it is England’s first large vertical lift bridge. It is an unusual structure with two steel lifting towers at either end, each 180 feet tall, supporting a bridge deck spanning 270 feet which alone weighs over 2,700 metric tons. It was designed to be lifted by motors, however, in the event of the motors failing a further mechanism allowed the massive bridge to be lifted manually by only 12 men. That is equivalent to each man individually lifting a Jumbo Jet, complete with its passengers, to the height of a twelve story building - a feat that in my mind is akin to building the great Egyptian pyramids. However, the twelve men of Middlesbrough could build their metaphorical pyramid in a matter of a few hours due to the clever use of counterweights. Much of the mechanics required for lifting are exposed making the bridge a fascinating site to visit. Out of interest, Dorman Long also built many other iconic bridges worldwide, including Sydney Harbour Bridge completed in 1932.

However Middlesbrough’s most iconic bridge, a massive steel structure which is without exception adored by local people, is the town’s 225 feet high Transporter Bridge. It was built with such a massive water clearance in order to allow tall-masted sailing ships to pass beneath. It is sometimes easy to forget that even at the start of the 20th Century sail power was still an important consideration.

Globally, the ‘Tranny’, as it is affectionately known locally, is now the longest bridge of its type still operating and is formally recognized as a historically important building (*Note: when measured on length between towers the Transporter over the River Usk in South Wales is one meter longer but due to the cantilever sections on Middlesbrough's transporter the overall deck length of the Middlesbrough bridge is more than 60 meters longer than the bridge over the River Usk). Middlesbrough's Transporter was constructed in 1911 by Arrol’s Bridge Company, later to become Sir William Arrol and Company after William Arrol was knighted in 1890 following the construction by his company of the much celebrated, World Heritage Site nominated, Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland. The Arrol’s company also supplied steel girder-work for the giant, 300 feet high, Earls Court Ferris Wheel constructed between 1894 and 1895. Arguably, due to its tourist impact, the most famous of Arrol’s bridges must be London’s Tower Bridge completed in 1894. It is somewhat ironic, given Middlesbrough’s iron and steel heritage, that Arrol’s was based in Glasgow, Scotland.

I took another opportunity to travel over the Tranny with my mother and niece earlier this year. My niece was thrilled to glide over the river on the bridge’s gondola, suspended from the overhead tracks by long steel cables. I was surprised to learn that it was the first time that she had been on the Tranny. My mother recounted tales of how she had crossed the bridge many times when she was young by climbing the steep ladders and walking across the steel gantry high above the river. In bygone days, many people would cross the river in this way to avoid the price of the gondola fare but sadly this option has long been removed in the interests of safety.

Our family has many links with the steel industry and over the years we have managed to collect a number of interesting artifacts related to its history. These include: a number of original and historically significant documents; two cast iron plaques of Arrol’s Bridge Company which were coincidentally cast in 1894 – could these have been for Tower Bridge?; and also a medallion commemorating the 1881 unveiling of Henry Bolckow’s statue which now stands in Middlesbrough’s Exchange Square. Sadly, Bolckow’s statue is also somewhat obscured from view by the large concrete pillars carrying the A66.

The legacy of Middlesbrough’s iron and steel heritage is still very much in evidence today. In fact, if you know where to go, it is still possible to see a blast furnace operating and watch as the molten metal is tapped-off at the base of the furnace. Head out along the rough, pot-holed track leading to the south breakwater of the River Tees where you can stop within a couple of hundred yards of the blast furnace. Whenever I visit Middlesbrough I often go there to look into the heart of the blast furnace and see the bright red, bubbling and spitting molten iron. It is an amazing sight and certainly one which will not be found in any guide book.


NOTES:

1. The artwork supporting this article is by (M).J.Richards. If you would like to see more of this artists work then <CLICK galleries-online HERE>. All photographs are by SMR except for Newport Bridge by James Watson.

2. To visit my website <CLICK ampurlife.com HERE>

3. Here are some excellent starting points for those who are interested in the subjects raised in this article:
--> Iron and Steel in Scotland http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/clydebridge/
--> About Middlesbrough http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/
--> More links to be added....

4. This article copyright Stephen Mark Richards (2013)  all rights are retained.