The worlds first cast iron bridge still stands in Shropshire, England, across River Severn.
Its more than two hundred years old.
Pritchards designs were approved by Act of Parliament and in 1777 construction began.
Abraham Darby III, an ironmaster at Coalbrookdale, was commissioned to cast and build the bridge.
When Pritchard died just a month after work had begun, the responsibility of the project fell upon Darby.
But in 1997 a small watercolour sketch by Elias Martin came to light in a museum in Stockholm.
Elias Martins painting of the Iron Bridge under construction, July 1779.
Throughout the 19th century, many cast iron bridges failed spectacularly.
The most infamous was theTay Bridge disasterof 1879, where 75 people lost their lives.
That same year, it was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Today, the bridge is celebrated as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution.
Photo:Mike Gibson UK/Shutterstock.com
Photo:Michael Brace/Flickr
Photo:John Clift/Flickr
