Tickford Bridge, Newport Pagnell
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Tickford Street, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire MK16 8HH
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Visit websiteThe bridge was jointly designed by Thomas Wilson (1751-1820) and Henry Provis (1760-1830), and followed Wilson's patented method for the construction of such arches. This was a revised version of the patent taken out by Roland Burden, engineer of the Wearmouth Bridge (1794), on which Wilson had supervised construction.
Provis had designed a masonry bridge for this spot on the Ouzel but a local committee overruled its construction in favour of using cast iron. Provis became supervising engineer for the project.
Tickford Bridge is 7.62m wide and spans 17.68m across the river, supported by masonry abutments of limestone. The abutments are carried down to bedrock. The superstructure is formed by six equally-spaced cast iron ribs connected by cast iron transverse diaphragms. Each rib is composed of eleven segments, with mortice and tenon joints keyed together to form an arch. The spandrel panels consist of iron rings diminishing in size towards the crown of the span. The original deck plates are of iron. They are placed over the upper members of the spandrel panels and located by continuous longitudinal lugs. Iron railings complete the design.
Following the fracture of one of the deck plates in 1900, the three inner bays were strengthened by the addition of wrought iron arch plates, bolted through the iron deck plates close to the ribs.
In 1976, a reinforced concrete slab was laid over the deck on a 20mm cushion of plastic foam.
By Road: Tickford Street the B 526 is the main street in Newport Pagnell and leads across the river. The bridge is best seen from Riverside on the north side of the river.
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Forgotten Relics - Listed Bridges and Viaducts