Description of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, UK

The art of bridge building has been practised successfully in the UK since prehistoric times. Perhaps the golden age of British bridge building was the mid-nineteenth century when Telford, Brunel and Stephenson were constructing road and railway bridges requiring major high-level crossings. The contribution of these three great bridge builders continues to capture the imagination and admiration of the public, as confirmed in a recent poll in the UK where Brunel was voted the second most influential Briton of the last millennium.

In launching this journal, it is appropriate that we revisit one of Brunel's major achievements—the Clifton Suspension Bridge....