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| The original footbridge. |
St Katharine Docks, which was the only major project of Thomas Telford in London, opened in 1828. His idea was to use as much of the land as possible for warehouses and to limit quayside space, ensuring cargo was lifted directly into the warehouses.
Because of the way he designed the docks, narrow footpaths allowed workers to walk around the site. However, to get from one side of the dock to the other could take some time, so Thomas Rhodes, the resident engineer of Telford, designed this retractable bridge, between the Central Basin and the East Dock.
Constructed with iron castings and wrought iron forgings, by John Lloyd, the bridge was linked to rail-mounted cast iron counterweight boxes that allowed it to stretch across the dock. Using a rack and pinion system the bridge could be retracted into the masonry of the dock walls.
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| The housing for the bridge. |
