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The Britannia bridge is the second and busiest of Anglesey's two bridges.
Following the opening of the Menai Suspension bridge in 1826, it was decided that a second bridge capable of providing a direct rail link between London and the port of Holyhead was needed.
In 1838 a scheme was proposed to add a railway line to the exsisting Menai suspension bridge, but when the idea was put to railway pioneer George Stephenson, the idea was scrapped as concerns were raised about the current bridge's suitability. An alternative idea was put foward by Stephenson, proposing the building of a second bridge which would cater strictly as a rail crossing to and from the island. In 1840 the idea was approved by the treasury committe, and five years later in 1845 the final route for the bridge was approved and building work began.
The building of the new bridge was a massive task. Overseen by Stephenson's son Robert (who was appointed as chief engineer) the bridge had to allow access to shipping passing along the Menai Straits, whilst being strong enough to support the heavy loads carried by the crossing trains. With some help from a friend of Robert's father, William Fairbairn, the design of the bridge was decided upon. The main span was covered by two rectangular iron tubes, each measuring 460 feet in length and weighing over 1500 tons which were constructed on shore and then transported by boat and raised onto three masonry piers, the centre of which was built on Britannia rock. The final distance was covered by a further two tubes measuring a futher 230 feet each making the Britannia bridge the largest of its kind. The final stage of the construction was the placing of four sculptured lions (sculpted by John Thomas) at either end of the bridge. The bridge was opened on the 5th of March 1850 taking only four years to build.Considered as one of the UK's most succesful railway bridges, the Britannia bridge supplied Anglesey with a valuable rail connection to the mainland for the next 120 years.
On the evening of May 23rd 1970, a group of young boys, looking for birds nests along the bridge accidentally dropped a burning torch, causing a huge fire. Firefighters were unable to extinguish the blaze, and so the fire was left to burn out, destroying the complete structure. As a cosequence the bridge was completely re-built. Archways were incorporated into the new design supporting the spans between the stone piers, but the most important change was the addition of a second level above the rail line supporting a single carriageway section of the A55 road. The original lions still stand guard over the new Britannia bridge, but are sadly only visible when crossing by rail.
Nearby places of interest are Llanfairpwll and Church Island.
Visiting Britannia Bridge? Click here for a map.