Coalport & Jackfield Memorial Bridge

The Coalport & Jackfield Memorial Footbridge

Before there was a bridge, there was a boat.

For over 120 years, a small ferry carried workers and families across the Severn between Jackfield and Coalport. It was practical but precarious. By the early 20th century, locals longed for a safer, permanent link.

As early as 1907, money was being raised for a “Free Footbridge.” That summer, the Alexandra Theatre in Ironbridge staged a benefit performance to swell the fund.

The dream lingered until after the Great War, when the project found a new purpose. It would stand as a memorial to the men of Jackfield and Coalport who had not come home.

From idea to memorial

On 24 January 1920, the Bridgnorth Journal reported a meeting at the local institute chaired by Rev. R. Gillenders. He pressed the need for a bridge to help workers walking daily to Maw & Co. and the Coalport China Works. Employers, he said, would contribute if the working classes also showed support.

A committee was formed, subscription lists opened, and the idea began to move.

By the summer of 1922, the bridge was a reality. Built in just nine weeks by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company of Darlington, it cost £1,046 (around £70,000 today). Charles Henry Parker of the Court Works at Madeley donated the memorial plates, which were cast there.

Opening day (2 September 1922)

The opening was a proud day. Lady Christine Forester cut the ribbon with a pair of silver scissors, declaring:

> “I declare this bridge open and wish it a long and happy life.”

The Jackfield Band played “The End of a Perfect Day” before the National Anthem.

Carnation buttonholes, kindly supplied by Mrs Hinsley of Madeley, were sold by two young girls, Freda Jones and Joan Withers, raising over £6 for the committee.

Names remembered

The bridge bore plaques with the names of 26 men who had fallen in the Great War. Later, another nine were added from the Second World War. Thirty-five in all, one recorded as missing.

At the entrance, a smaller plaque carried a simple instruction:

> “This bridge is free. O tread it reverently, in memory of those who died for thee.”

Floods, restrictions, and the “Shakey Bridge”

The Severn wasted no time in testing it. In January 1925, the river rose to 16’9”, flooding the Boat Inn beside the bridge and submerging the memorial almost to its deck.

By 1926, it was restricted to pedestrians only.

Through the decades it endured floods, corrosion and neglect. Locals, with a mix of affection and exasperation, nicknamed it the “Shakey Bridge”, a title it still carries for the wobble you feel beneath your feet as you cross.

Closure, campaign, and restoration

By 1997, the situation was dire. The Bridgnorth Journal reported county engineers considering closure on safety grounds. Landlord Mike Pygott of the Boat Inn warned it would devastate trade, with up to 5,000 people using it in a tourist season.

MP Bruce Grocott lent support, but by September the bridge was declared unsafe and closed.

There were fears it might be lost altogether. Some even argued demolition would be cheaper. But the community pushed back. Campaigners insisted a war memorial must be saved, not scrapped. As one local paper put it: “Money spent on these values is money well spent.”

Rescue came through grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Onyx Environmental Trust. At a cost of £430,000, the bridge was dismantled and taken to Wrexham for refurbishment.

On 28 April 2000, it was lifted back into place.

Reopening and rededication (15 July 2000)

A few months later, the villages celebrated. The Jackfield Elcock Reisen Brass Band played outside the Boat Inn. There were stalls, craft displays, face-painting and a barbecue.

At 3pm, bunting flying, the official reopening took place. Lady Catherine Weld-Forester, with her husband George, the 8th Lord Forester, rededicated the bridge, almost 80 years after his grandmother had first opened it.

Today

On 19 September 2025, the bridge was closed again following an inspection. Cllr Carolyn Healy called it a “key route for residents” and promised to press for it to be reopened quickly.

From ferry to memorial, flood to closure, demolition scare to rededication, the Coalport & Jackfield Memorial Footbridge is more than steel. It is a community’s promise, carried forward a century on:

Lest we forget.