Our newly restored, much loved, beautiful Victorian (Grade ll Listed) Footbridge, original Severn & Wye Railway infrastructure in Lydney Conservation Area.
Railway Footbridge to the east of St Mary’s Church, Church Road, Lydney, Gloucestershire GL15 5TL.
St. Mary's Pedestrian Bridge Poject
The restoration ‘to its original form’ of St. Mary’s Footbridge was undertaken by bridge specialist Mabey, which manufactures and exports modular bridges around the world from its nearby factory in Lydney.
According to Historic England ‘This is a very complete survival, elegant and of great economy in engineering design’. The Listed Building Consent allowed the bridge, originally built in kit form, to be dismantled and transported to a secure workshop for restoration but even when dismantled, the individual elements of the listed bridge remained listed. The footbridge was removed from the site using the Dean Forest Railway’s own heritage 15-ton rail crane built by Joseph Booth & Bros of Rodley, Leeds. It was then transferred to road transport and taken to the workshop. Restoration includes replacement of the deck section lower chords, eleven new cast iron stair risers, new deck plates, new finials on the lanterns and 470 rivets!
Closed since 2007, the re-opening of the footbridge re-connects footpaths and allows free access ‘all year round’ to view the Dean Forest Heritage Railway and to get to St. Mary’s Church founded in the 12th century.
The preservation of the footbridge has been for the benefit, appreciation, and enjoyment of the local community, visitors and future generations. This well-supported restoration project was funded thanks to donations and funding from the Rural Development Programme for England – Rural Tourism Infrastructure Growth Programme, part-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The European Agricultural Fund
for Rural Development:
Europe investing in rural areas