Web of Iron

Overview

A series of online talks for ICE Wales Cymru, in conjunction with the South Wales Institute of Engineers Educational Trust (SWIEET) and the Newcomen Society, by Stephen K. Jones. Stephen is the Wales representative for the Panel for Historical Engineering Works (PHEW), on historical engineering works in Wales and the wider world and has particular interest in Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Captain Sir Samuel Brown.

The Welsh landscape challenged Brunel to develop innovative engineering solutions and he worked extensively with Welsh industry including Brown Lenox.

The first two talks concern Brunel’s works in South Wales and the last two on the history of the suspension bridge in a worldwide context whilst illustrating the pioneering work of Samuel Brown and the Brown Lenox chainworks he established in South Wales. The impact of the railway on its development and decline is also covered in the last talk.

Part 3: Web of Iron

This webinar covers the development of the suspension bridge, from earliest origins through James Finley’s pioneering works in the United States to the work of Thomas Telford and Samuel Brown on chain suspension bridges for road traffic.

The great advances made in iron-making technology saw a strong British influence worldwide and the suspension bridge, with its potential for inbuilt symmetry, would become a well appreciated feature of the landscape. It was a short but golden age that apart from a few later examples, was to be cut short by railways as the dominant carrier for passengers and goods.