BRISTOL: Clifton Village and Suspension Bridge
Saturday, 29. November 2008, 08:35:10
Clifton is an inner suburb of the English port city of Bristol. Its population is 10,293.
This is one of the oldest and most affluent areas of the city, much of it having been built with profits from tobacco and the slave trade. Situated to the west of Bristol's city centre, it was at one time a separate settlement but became attached to Bristol by continuous development during the Georgian era and was formally incorporated into the city in the 1830s. Grand houses, that required many servants, were built in the area. Although some were detached or semi-detached properties, the bulk were built as terraces, many with three or more floors. One famous terrace is the majestic Royal York Crescent.
One landmark of Clifton village is the suspension bridge. It is spanning the Avon Gorge and linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset, England. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it is a landmark that is used as a symbol of Bristol. It is a grade I listed building.
Brunel's design won the competition on 16 March 1831, for a suspension bridge with fashionably Egyptian-influenced towers. By 1843, the towers had been built in unfinished stone, but funds were exhausted.
Brunel died in 1859, without seeing the completion of the bridge. Brunel's colleagues in the Institution of Civil Engineers felt that completion of the Bridge would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds.
Work on the bridge was restarted in 1862, and was complete by 1864.
The bridge is now managed by a trust set up by Act of Parliament in 1952. Tolls are levied on vehicles but no longer on cyclists or pedestrians.
In April 2006 the bridge was the centrepiece of the Brunel 200 weekend, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. At the climax of the celebration a large firework display was launched from the bridge. The celebrations also saw the switch on of an LED-based array to illuminate the bridge.
This is one of the oldest and most affluent areas of the city, much of it having been built with profits from tobacco and the slave trade. Situated to the west of Bristol's city centre, it was at one time a separate settlement but became attached to Bristol by continuous development during the Georgian era and was formally incorporated into the city in the 1830s. Grand houses, that required many servants, were built in the area. Although some were detached or semi-detached properties, the bulk were built as terraces, many with three or more floors. One famous terrace is the majestic Royal York Crescent.
One landmark of Clifton village is the suspension bridge. It is spanning the Avon Gorge and linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset, England. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, it is a landmark that is used as a symbol of Bristol. It is a grade I listed building.
Brunel's design won the competition on 16 March 1831, for a suspension bridge with fashionably Egyptian-influenced towers. By 1843, the towers had been built in unfinished stone, but funds were exhausted.
Brunel died in 1859, without seeing the completion of the bridge. Brunel's colleagues in the Institution of Civil Engineers felt that completion of the Bridge would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds.
Work on the bridge was restarted in 1862, and was complete by 1864.
The bridge is now managed by a trust set up by Act of Parliament in 1952. Tolls are levied on vehicles but no longer on cyclists or pedestrians.
In April 2006 the bridge was the centrepiece of the Brunel 200 weekend, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. At the climax of the celebration a large firework display was launched from the bridge. The celebrations also saw the switch on of an LED-based array to illuminate the bridge.
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