Bridges - 34 Queen's Avenue Bridge     (aka Iron Bridge), Aldershot

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From Ash Lock it is one mile up the canal to the Army-owned Queen's Avenue Bridge in Aldershot.     The Basingstoke Canal has been very lucky in recent years with the standard of bridge reconstruction which has been of the highest quality. In 1997 the Queen's Avenue Bridge which crosses the canal in Aldershot was completely restored.     The very first bridge at this site was built at the time the Aldershot Camp was constructed in the 1850s and was designed to carry horse drawn mainly lightweight army transport and equipment. It was made of wood.     This picture of the wooden bridge seems to have been taken from the approach looking towards the old church.     In 1898/99, to cater for the increasing weight of army transport and equipment a replacement iron bridge was designed and built by the Army authorities and cost a total of £4,134; three contractors were involved.     The iron castings were manufactured in 1881 by McFarlanes Saracen Foundry in Glasgow so perhaps were made for another bridge but not used at the time.     In the photo a white cross can be seen which is painted on netting, probably to prevent soldiers from walking under the bridge.     At this time the Army had its own herd of cattle to supply meat for the troops and it is likely that the cows in the picture were being led along the towpath to be slaughtered.

Lack of adequate maintenance, decay and deterioration due to water percolation meant that the bridge was increasingly unable to carry modern traffic.     In the mid-1990s the Ministry of Defence (MoD) - ie the Army, decided it must be upgraded to meet the Department of Transport (DoT) loading of 40 tons.     The seven steel girders of the decking were badly corroded and needed replacing.     None of the original decorative rosettes remained.     Plans, based on the original ones which were still available, were drawn up to recreate the original bridge as seen by the casual observer, but using modern standards of materials and construction techniques. The decking was increased from seven to twelve girders to meet the new loading requirements. The new steel girders are simple rolled sections with no requirement for the plated construction originally used.     It was decided to re-use the remaining decorative iron railings where possible, although the odd panel was beyond redemption and some had been destroyed in traffic accidents.

A specialist firm of ironwork contractors was used, Dorothea Restorations, a leading UK firm in this field. The company has its own foundry where the reusable ironwork was shot-blasted and repairs and new panels cast.     To prevent damage by passing traffic to the bridge parapet, crash barriers have been erected at the road side.     The MoD and the architects specified very high quality materials in order to recreate the bridge which included -     6,000 imitation rivet heads welded under new decking to recreate the original plated appearance, at a cost of £16,000. York stone for the new caps to replicate the old. 23 and a half carat double standard gold leaf for the rosettes. Replacement lamp standards which are as close as possible to the originals (removed in the 1940s). Special paints (many coats) with the top coat in Brunswick Green which was considered to be most appropriate.     The vertical metal bars on the brick abutments have been freed and painted. They were used to protect the brickwork from being worn away by the towing ropes of the horse drawn barges passing under the bridge. The wooden towpath piling at this location is original and was reputed to have been obtained from the Royal Engineers yard on the opposite side of the canal.     This is an excellent work of reconstruction of which everyone involved can be justly proud. [pictures: David Millett, Arthur Dungate]     [Based on an article by David Millett in BC News 176, Autumn 1997]     Continuing up the canal in just under 530 yards the next bridge is reached.   NEXT - Farnborough Rd Bridges BACK

Last updated July 2001 & August 2004