Excursions in North Wales / A Complete Guide to the Tourist Through That Romantic Country

by John Hicklin

“The dimensions of the bridge are as follows:—The extreme length of the chain, from the fastenings in the rock, is about 1715 feet; the height of the road-way from high water line, is 100 feet; each of the seven small piers from high water line to the spring of the arches, is 65 feet; the span of each arch is 52½ feet. Each of the suspending piers is 53 feet above the road; the roads on the bridge consist of two carriage-ways of 12 feet each, with a foot-path of four feet in the centre; the length of the suspended part of the road from pier to pier is 553 feet; the carriage-road passes through two arches in the suspending piers, of the width of 9 feet by 15 feet in height to the spring of the arches. To counteract the contraction and expansion of the iron from the effects of the change of the atmosphere, a set of rollers are placed under cast-iron saddles on the top of the suspending piers where the chains rest; the vertical rods an inch square, suspended from the chains, support the sleepers for the flooring of the road-way, the rods being placed 5 feet from each other. The chains, sixteen in number, consist of five bars each; length of the bars 10 feet, width 3 inches by 1 inch, with six connecting lengths at each joint, 1 foot 4 inches by 8 inches, and 1 inch thick, secured by two bolts at each joint, each bolt weighing about 50 pounds; and the total number of the bars in the cross-section of the chain is 80. The total weight of iron-work is 4,373,281 pounds.”

The pen and pencil of genius have frequently been employed to delineate the Menai Bridge, and whatever difference of taste may have prevailed in determining the character of the various sketches, all writers have been unanimous in their admiration of the intellect which could devise, and the skill which could erect this magnificent and astonishing structure. The approach by water has been thus described:—“When, on entering the straits, the bridge is first seen suspended as it were in mid air, and confining the view of the fertile and richly wooded shores, it seems more like a light ornament than a massy bridge, and shews little of the strength and solidity which it really possesses. But as we approached it nearer, whilst it still retained its light and elegant appearance, the stupendous size and immensity of the work struck us with awe; and when we saw that a brig, with every stick standing, had just passed under it—that a coach going over it appeared not larger than a child’s toy—and that foot passengers upon it looked like pigmies, the vastness of its proportions was by contrast fully apparent.”

Another tourist gives the subjoined outline, while surveying the attractive object on the spot:—“Having landed by means of boats on the Anglesea side, we proceeded to the bridge, the visiting of which is a new era in the lives of those who have not before had that pleasure, and is a renewed luxury to those who have seen it again and again. Our party walked over the bridge slowly, because there was something to be admired at every step;—the effect of a passing carriage; the vibration caused even by a hand applied to the suspending rods; the depth to the level of the water; the fine view of the straits in both directions; the lofty pillar erected in honour of the Marquis of Anglesea; the diminutive appearance of persons on the shore; the excellence and strength of the workmanship; the beauty of the arches over the road through the suspension piers, and the echo in them; all conspired to delight and to detain us. Many of our party then went down the steep bank to the foot of the bridge, from which point, certainly, the best view is to be had of the whole structure, inasmuch as by being in contact, as it were, with its proportions on terra firma, a better idea can be formed of its real, and indeed wonderful dimensions. We actually lingered about the spot careless of time, or of aught but the scene we were contemplating.”

From the Suspension Bridge to Beaumaris, the road is exquisitely beautiful: it follows the line of the winding and indented shore of the Menai: now commanding an extensive view of the noble bay, and its lofty encircling mountains—now entering the woods of Baron Hill, scarcely protected from the precipice, the base of which is washed by the waves, which are heard chafing against the rock below—again it emerges from the woods, and the whole glorious panorama bursts on the sight: the beautiful town of Beaumaris lying at your feet, whilst the Ormeshead, Penmaen Mawr, the Nant Francon mountains, and the more distant range of Snowdonia, with Penrhyn Castle and Bangor, terminating with nature’s great rival, the Bridge, form a prospect of remarkable beauty and sublimity.

The Menai Straits, which separate Anglesea from the main land, although bearing the appearance of a river, are formed by an arm of the sea; the navigation of which is peculiarly dangerous at particular times of the tide, and in stormy weather. At each extremity, during the flood, it has a double current, from the concussion of which, termed Pwll Ceris, it is perilous to encounter it; and so tremendous are the storms with which the straits are occasionally disturbed, that before the erection of the Menai Bridge, a tempestuous day has been sufficient to suspend the intercourse of England with Ireland, the high road to which, via Holyhead, lies through Anglesea. Within the range of the coast, a distance of about fifteen miles, there are six ferries; the first of which, to the south, is Aber-Menai, nearly opposite Caernarvon, and the sixth, and widest at high water, is between the village of Aber and Beaumaris.

Nicholson, in his Cambrian Guide, says, “There appears but little doubt of Anglesea having been once connected with the main land, as evident traces of an isthmus are discernible near Porthaethwy ferry; where a dangerous line of rocks nearly crosses the channel, and causes such eddies at the first flowing of the tide, that the contending currents of the Menai seem here to struggle for superiority. This isthmus once destroyed, and a channel formed, it has been the work of ages, by the force of spring tides and storms, gradually to deepen and enlarge the opening.” In support of this hypothesis, the author of Beaumaris Bay quotes the following historical facts:—“In the year 61, the Roman infantry, under Suetonius, crossed the Menai on a bridge of boats, to Pant-yr-Ysgraffiau (the inlet of the skiffs) under Porthamael, while the cavalry forded it below Llanidan. Edward the First also crossed the strait in the same manner at Moel-y-don, but suffered severely from an unfortunate attack, on the return of the tide; several of his leading warriors now lying in the chapel of the Friary, near Beaumaris.”

Railway Bridge across the Menai.

In the original prospectus for the construction of the Chester and Holyhead railway, it was proposed to carry the line across the suspension bridge which has just been described; the engines to be detached from the trains at each end of the bridge, and the carriages to be conveyed over by horses. The government very properly objected to an arrangement which would have been in all respects a great public inconvenience. It was then proposed to cross the Straits in the vicinity of the Britannia rock, a little to the southward of the suspension bridge, by a bridge of two cast-iron arches supported on piers of masonry. This project was opposed by the trustees of the Caernarvon harbour, as a dangerous interference with the free navigation of the Straits, which had always been of a difficult and intricate character. A long and anxious investigation of this matter ended in a proposal by Mr. Robert Stephenson, the eminent engineer to the railway company, to construct a mode of transit, which should be perfectly unobjectionable. In May, 1845, that gentleman explained to a committee of the House of Commons, to whom the Chester and Holyhead Railway Bill had been referred, that the engineers sent down by the Board of Admiralty to Bangor having reported that the proposed two-arched bridge would be injurious to the navigation, and recommended one of a much greater width, and of a flat surface, without any arch; he (Mr. Stephenson) had been under the necessity of preparing himself to carry out those suggestions. He was apprehensive that owing to the expansion and contraction of iron, in a position where the ends, as in an arch, are jammed down on immovable piers of masonry, the fabric of an iron arch of such great width might not be free from danger; and a suspension bridge would not be safely available as a railway for locomotive engines. He had therefore come to the conclusion, that a tube or tunnel, of wrought iron, large enough for the passage of trains, would be the most feasible plan, embracing safety for the navigation, and creating no delay to the transit of the railway carriages over the straits. The tube would be 900 feet in length, supported at the centre in a pier of masonry, about 100 feet high, erected on the Britannia rock. The ends would not be jammed, as in the case of an arch, but left free, so as to admit of expansion in the metal arising from the change of temperature. The practicability and safety of this novelty in engineering science, were attested by several witnesses of competent skill and ability; and the plan was ultimately sanctioned by Parliament. The pier of masonry to be erected on the Britannia rock, which lies about mid-way across the stream, is to have four sides, each of 50 feet width; the water-way on each side of the pier to be 450 feet wide; the height and shape of the Menai suspension bridge to be maintained in the construction of the proposed tunnel, with the same clear headway for the free passage of vessels navigating the straits. At a meeting of the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, in August 1845, the report presented by the board of management contained the following passages:—

“With reference to the magnitude, as well as the novelty of the work, your directors deemed it essential that the plan of crossing the Menai Straits, proposed by Mr. Stephenson, the company’s engineer, should be subjected to the test of experiments. Those experiments have been in progress for some time, and are now nearly completed. The results as at present shewn are extremely satisfactory, confirming most strongly the soundness of the principle, and giving the most perfect confidence to your directors, with regard to the proposed stupendous structure, that its erection will be easy, and that its security will be complete and lasting. So satisfied is Mr. Stephenson with the comparative strength, durability, and economy of this new method of bridge-building, that he purposes adopting it also for the crossing of the river at Conway.”

In the spring of 1846, contracts for the erection of this novel bridge over the Menai were entered into; the works are now in progress; and this singular triumph of engineering skill will afford another extraordinary instance of the achievements of railway enterprise; and add another to the many wonders of nature and art, which abound throughout this attractive district of the Principality.