Survey Data
Reg No
50060550
Rating
National
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Historical, Social, Technical
Previous Name
Wellington Bridge/Metal Bridge
Original Use
Foot bridge
In Use As
Foot bridge
Date
1815 - 1820
Coordinates
315726, 234278
Date Recorded
02/09/2014
Date Updated
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Description
Single-span cast-iron footbridge spanning River Liffey, erected 1816. Alcoved ashlar granite abutments support single-span low-rise elliptical arch of cast-iron bolted segments, with cast-iron railed parapet, and having three decorative pierced ogee-profile overarching lamp standards with cast-iron lamps. Timber decking. Accessed by flight of granite steps at each end.
Appraisal
The Liffey Bridge is known colloquially as the Ha'penny Bridge, following its original status as a toll bridge when it replaced an earlier ferry crossing over the river. It is completely of cast-iron, an innovative material at the time. It was erected in 1816 to designs by John Windsor, and manufactured at the celebrated Coalbrookedale foundry in Shropshire, the manufactory of the first iron bridge in 1779. It remains an elegant structure with iconic status for the city. That it is still in use today is a testament to its early nineteenth-century designers and manufacturers responsible for its construction.