S & T - UK - pound 2005

[Figleaf]

One of the many things I like about the UK is how I always come home with a find from circulation. This pound coin has seen some circulation, but has no wear to speak of. It's going to look better in my coin collection than one of the shiny pieces that never left their packaging.

The bridge is the 1826 Pont Grog y Borth in Wales, connecting the island of Anglesey to the mainland. Coin collectors will immediately be reminded of the token halfpennies of the 1790's with the Druid's head, issued by the Anglesey Mine Company.

I have made a less obvious mental link too: the stanchions on the border remind me of the Eiffel tower, the Pont Bir-Hakeim and the Parisian metro line 6 passing the one and crossing the other that I used to take when I lived in the Paris area. These constructions, like the Pont Grog y Borth were made mainly of steel with masonry supports.

Peter

[tonyclayton]

While I am sure a few Welsh speakers would use the bridge name you quoted, almost everyone else would call it the Menai Straits Suspension Bridge.  It was built by Thomas Telford originally, but it has been much modified since then.  The first version broke up in a storm shortly after the Irish mail had crossed, and Telford had to modify the deck with overhead cross girders to strengthen the road deck. Then during WW2 it was rebuilt so that tanks shipped to Holyhead could cross to the mainland.  The overhead girders were removed, the suspension chains modified, and the western arches in the main towers were widened.  To this day wide loads might use the wrong carriageway to get through (clearly while oncoming traffic is halted!).

[Figleaf]

Thanks for coming up with the name of the original architect. I made a clickable link in your message, where you can read he was inspired by the bridge at Coalbrookdale, which plays an important part in this thread.

Peter

[andyg]

This I took in February - apologies for the quality as I took it with my phone....