Bridges

by Richard Hayman

From the famous bascules of Tower Bridge and the august span at Westminster, through the engineering masterpieces at Ironbridge and the Forth, bridges are some of the most iconic landmarks of Britain. From the smallest arch to the largest overpass, they have a rich architectural, economic, social, and sometimes even religious history. This beautifully illustrated introduction by Richard Hayman explains how piety built and maintained bridges in the Middle Ages; how economic forces inspired a new generation of road bridges in the eighteenth century, including Iron Bridge in Shropshire and the Menai Bridge in North Wales; and how technological prowess gave us the soaring railway viaducts of the nineteenth century and road bridges of the twentieth.

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2020

Reviews

[Sandra Berryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have traveled to Great Britain several times and most times my husband and I would take off and go to far off places. Having seen almost all of the U K. I truly loved the bridges. Each bridge was different, my favorite being the Ironbridge by Telford on Shropshire. This book is very informative without overwhelming a person with too much technical analysis. The photographs are very good, and this book makes me want to go back and look at more bridges! I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bridges". Yup, just that. The problem with such a concise title is that it'll kibosh a lot of search engines, but hopefully this book will find its place and its audience, for it's just what I wanted. It's better title would be something that included a second word, at least, for this is exclusively about British bridges. Yes, it does mention that suspension bridges were principally American at first, and the concrete masters since then were mostly French, but all the bridge history we get told about, all the examples of bridge construction we examine, and all the bridges we see in the wonderful photographs, are all here in Britain. I wouldn't have minded if the thing had a global scope, but it was a pleasant surprise to find it solely about these shores. I do wonder if the format (about the size of a 7x5 photograph, and portrait, when bridges are mostly seen best in landscape) is the best that could be chosen, but the author knows his stuff, and gets just as much enthusiasm and clarity on the page for a book for the general browser such as this. As a book that teaches me all I could imagine wanting to know, about a subject I'd not expect to find myself turning to again, this hits the mark. Now, about that skew bridge on the M25 that doesn't even seem to be connected to itself… what the what?

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

With every pun intended this series continues to bridge the gap between providing a good level of information and not becoming over technical. Richard Hayman is a great writer on subjects involving industrial archaeology and technology and demonstrates a wide geographical range of examples throughout this book. This volume moves through the ages explaining how the bridge moved from purely functional to becoming in some cases a thing of great beauty. In the medieval period we see bridges with chapels and hermits whilst also introducing the idea that bridges were an important Christian obligation. The industrial period saw a massive growth in the need for bridges as new materials became more readily available. It concludes by showing the uses of concrete and steel through to the aesthetically pleasing bridges. This book is very well illustrated throughout, the book has a useful gazetteer and list of further reading. Undoubtedly a recommended read.

#Bridges #NetGalley

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I was doing a B&N haul and I wanted a bridge book because I love bridges. I opened it and wondered why it was so eurocentric, but then realized it’s literally a book about BRITISH bridges, oops. But I still enjoyed it - so many beautiful bridges! It was interesting to see the evolution of bridge design over the years. I liked reading about the history of religious ties for bridge funding because bridges help the needy with transportation. Hermits took care of the bridges, and they were funded with indulgences and tolls. It was also interesting to see a lot of bridges with buildings on them, because most of the bridges I think about today are just for roads. And the chapel bridges looked quite impressive.

[Thomas Lambe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC copy of this beautiful work! Bridges is the right title for this fine work. Maybe another word or two would have been helpful for anyone exploring this. This is a history of bridges and was just so well written.

Readers will, no doubt, enjoy this excellent work. Highly recommend.