Smeaton Lecture 2022 – Who designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge

Every modern biographer of Isambard Kingdom Brunel has followed the line taken by his son that Thomas Telford, as adjudicator of the 1829 competition, turned down Brunel’s design in favour of his own. The story goes that he refused to countenance spans longer than that of his own Menai Bridge and therefore turned down Brunel’s design of 1000 feet in favour of his own design.

However, on examining the archives at the Bristol Record Office and Brunel Institute, it becomes clear that this account is entirely untrue, casting an unjustifiable slur on Telford’s reputation to promote the genius of I.K. Brunel.

Delivered by Julia Elton FSA, Engineering Historian and Past President of the Newcomen Society, this year’s lecture will look at the bridges preceding Clifton, putting it in context with contemporary developments. It will examine Telford’s role and give an overview of the many other entrants and their designs and consider the subsequent history of the bridge and its completion in 1864 by William Henry Barlow and Sir John Hawkshaw, comparing their design with Brunel’s unbuilt winning scheme.

Join us on 11 July to hear the true story of Bristol’s iconic bridge and draw out lessons for civil engineers today as they design challenging projects and adapt to developments in technology and technical capabilities.