In 1754, William Vick, a wealthy Bristol wine merchant, had left
£1,000 in his will with instructions that the money should be invested until it reached the sum of £10,000, an amount he felt would pay for the construction of a stone bridge across the gorge. The bridge would be free to travellers and would link the hamlet of Clifton and the private estates of Leigh Woods. As the proposed bridge would seem to serve little economic purpose, it is uncertain what Vick’s motive was in leaving these instructions.



Brunel’s winning entry


By 1829, Vick’s legacy had reached £8,000 and a committee was set up to decide how to fulfil his dream. It was soon realised that a stone bridge would cost in the region of £90,000. An iron suspension bridge would be cheaper but would still require tolls to cover its cost and maintenance. An Act of Parliament was passed allowing these changes to Vick’s bequest and on 1 October a competition to design a bridge was announced with a prize of 100 guineas for the winner.

Brunel entered the competition but the result was a shambles: the judge, the distinguished engineer Thomas Telford, dismissed all the entries and was invited to submit his own proposal by the committee. Telford’s design, a three span bridge supported by Gothic towers (he thought the span too great for a suspension bridge), was derided by the public. A second competition was announced in 1830 and once again Brunel submitted four designs. One of these was originally given second place but Brunel convinced the panel to award him the first prize: this was formally confirmed on 16 March 1831. He wrote to his brother-in-law:

I have to say that of all the wonderful feats I have performed since I have been in this part of the world, I think yesterday I performed the most wonderful. I produced unanimity amongst fifteen men who were quarrelling about the most ticklish subject – taste.

The Egyptian thing I brought down was quite extravagantly admired by all and unanimously adopted; and I am directed to make such drawings, lithographs, etc as I, in my supreme judgement, may deem fit; indeed, they were not only very liberal with their money, but inclined to save themselves much trouble by placing very complete reliance on me.

His design shows that Brunel perceived the bridge in terms of the grand experience of crossing the gorge, of having a landmark presence and of being a gateway to the city. Author Bryan Little has written of the project:

...with his piercing, inventive brain, [Brunel] was as much artist as engineer. His earliest Bristol activity led to the creation of a great engineering feat which he also saw as a conscious work of art… His essentially artistic conception led on to his more utilitarian, and not less famous work, on the harbour, on steamships, and on the railways.

On 21 June 1831, at the ceremony to mark the laying of the
foundation stone on the Clifton side of the gorge, Sir Abraham Elton, referring to Brunel, said:

The time will come when, as that gentleman walks along the streets or as he passes from city to city, the cry would be raised, "There goes the man who reared that stupendous work, the ornament of Bristol and the wonder of the age".



1851 watercolour showing Clifton-side tower of bridge and the observatory (Private collection)


In late October that year, Bristol suffered considerable damage and disruption during rioting centred upon Queen Square. Brunel, who was in the city to supervise work on the bridge, served as a special constable during the riot. Business confidence in the city fell and work on the bridge was halted. It did not resume until 1836.

Brunel referred to the Clifton Suspension Bridge as his ‘darling’ but financial difficulties and contractual disagreements led to long delays in its construction and the bridge was not completed until 1864, five years after his death and as a memorial to him.



Brunel's Hungerford Suspension Bridge: demolished to make way for a new bridge at Charing Cross, its chains were used at Clifton
(Elton Collection: Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust)


The bridge spans 214 metres between its two 26 metre high towers and stands 76 metres above the high water mark in the gorge through which the river Avon flows. Modern computer analysis has revealed that in his design of the crucial joints between the 4,200 links that make up the bridge’s chain, Brunel had made an almost perfect calculation of the minimal weight required to maintain maximum strength (the chains were taken from his bridge at Hungerford which had been demolished). In 2002, it was discovered that the bridge’s abutments contain a honeycomb of chambers and tunnels, some of which are 11 metres high. It is thought that these spectacular vaults reduced the cost of construction without reducing strength.

Although built for pedestrian and horse drawn traffic, the bridge was so ingeniously constructed that it is now capable of carrying around 4 million cars a year, and has become a major route to the motorway network. It is also a structure of great beauty and in 2006 this will be enhanced with a new lighting scheme, to be revealed on the anniversary of Brunel’s birth.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is one of Bristol’s cultural icons and provides perhaps the most easily recognised visual image of the city, being used as a logo on publicity material produced by Destination Bristol and other local bodies. It is symbolic of the city’s history of building bridges between different communities, places and sectors and its chequered history epitomises the clash between innovation and conservatism that has characterised much of Bristol’s development.

In 1998, the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust opened a visitor centre, telling the story of the bridge through exhibitions, photographs, art work, memorabilia, models and interactive displays.

Visit the official website of the Clifton Suspension Bridge for further details of the bridge’s history and construction.



Photograph of the bridge today (Destination Bristol)