356 COALBROOKDALE IRON BRIDGE. PART VIII. 



over the difficulties which had baffled the foreigners. 

 Shortly after the above ineffectual attempt had been 

 made, the construction of an iron bridge over the 

 Severn near Broseley formed the subject of discussion 

 among the iron-masters. It was proposed to substitute 

 a bridge in place of the ferry which then connected 

 the two banks of the river ; and Mr. John Wilkinson, 

 who had, as some thought, an extravagant, but, as 

 results have proved, a truly prophetic, appreciation 

 of the extensive uses to which iron might be applied, 

 strongly urged that the structure should be of that 

 material. Everybody knew of Mr. Wilkinson's hobby, 

 and of his prognostication that the time would come 

 when we should live in houses of iron, and even navi- 

 gate the seas in ships of iron. When he insisted upon 

 an iron bridge being built at Coalbrookdale, people said 

 he was "iron-mad." But as he was a powerful man 

 in his day " the great iron-master " he was called 

 his suggestion could not be dismissed without consi- 

 deration ; and the Bridge Company, which had been 

 formed, determined to take the opinion of Mr. Pritchard, 

 of Shrewsbury, on the subject. That architect's opinion 

 was favourable to the suggestion of the iron-master ; 

 and he was requested to supply a design of an iron 

 bridge, which was eventually adopted. The work 

 was erected, under contract, by Messrs. Eeynolds and 

 Darby, iron-masters at Coalbrookdale, in the year 

 1777. The bridge has only one semicircular arch of 

 100 feet span, each of the great ribs consisting of two 

 pieces only. Though it was on the whole a bold design, 

 and well executed, the error was committed of treating 

 the arch as one of equilibrium. There also seems to have 

 been some defect in the abutments, which were forced 

 inwards by the pressure of the earth behind them, and 

 the iron arch was thus partially fractured and raised 

 in the middle. Nevertheless, the first cast iron bridge 



