English Heritage has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £25,000 towards its £3.6m project to repair the world famous Iron Bridge across the river Severn in Shropshire.
The conservation charity said the world's first iron bridge, dubbed one of the greatest symbols of the Industrial Revolution, is suffering from cracking and that a major conservation project is vital to preserve it for the future.
At a cost of £3.6m, the project represents English Heritage’s largest ever conservation project.
The charity, which cares for over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites, including Stonehenge, said it has already raised a significant sum, including a donation of €1m from the Hermann Reemtsma Foundation.
But it said it now needs to raise £25,000 ‘to safeguard this symbol of a turning point in human history’.
It is inviting members of the public to play a role by donating via its Crowdfunder campaign.
English Heritage will be hoping to keep its repairs within budget. The bridge, which opened on New Year’s Day 1781, used a total of 378 tons of iron at a cost of around £6,000 – slightly more than the original estimate of £3,200.
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