The Rochester Bridge Trust is a unique medieval charity that was founded in 1399 to provide a free crossing of the River Medway – a role it still performs. I joined as chief executive in 2006, the first woman and the first chartered civil engineer appointed to the position. Given my interest in old bridges and history, it was my perfect job.
Apart from the opportunity to use my engineering skills managing the trust’s three major estuary bridges in Rochester, I was attracted to the role by the charity’s long history and unique archives, which form the basis of the current exhibition.
Searching through original correspondence and other records I uncovered details of Thomas Telford’s work on Rochester Bridge from 1821. Although thousands of pages have been published about him, none mention the six years he spent as the engineer for the bridge and this provides a new insight into his personality and work.
Another great engineer was William Cubitt – the engineer to the Great Exhibition of 1851 – who built a new bridge for Rochester in 1856. He is not so well known but our archives and the records of the Institution of Civil Engineers reveal the career of this extraordinary man, from his early work as a millwright and inventor to an engineer of canals, railways and bridges.
The history of Rochester Bridge began soon after the Roman conquest when the Romans built the first major bridge in Britain across the Medway. That part of the story is centred around the Textus Roffensis. Owned by Rochester Cathedral, this 12th-century document is the earliest written record of English law.
Apart from the opportunity to use my engineering skills managing the trust’s three major estuary bridges in Rochester, I was attracted to the role by the charity’s long history and unique archives, which form the basis of the current exhibition.
Searching through original correspondence and other records I uncovered details of Thomas Telford’s work on Rochester Bridge from 1821. Although thousands of pages have been published about him, none mention the six years he spent as the engineer for the bridge and this provides a new insight into his personality and work.
Another great engineer was William Cubitt – the engineer to the Great Exhibition of 1851 – who built a new bridge for Rochester in 1856. He is not so well known but our archives and the records of the Institution of Civil Engineers reveal the career of this extraordinary man, from his early work as a millwright and inventor to an engineer of canals, railways and bridges.
The history of Rochester Bridge began soon after the Roman conquest when the Romans built the first major bridge in Britain across the Medway. That part of the story is centred around the Textus Roffensis. Owned by Rochester Cathedral, this 12th-century document is the earliest written record of English law.
Sue Threader is the bridge clerk and chief executive of the Rochester Bridge Trust. Crossing the River Medway: A Story of the Rochester Bridge Trust runs until October in the newly restored crypt at Rochester Cathedral
