Margot's Blog: Bridge exhibition

18 May 2026

Bridge exhibition

Menai Suspension Bridge, aka Telford Bridge, aka the old bridge, is 200 years old. The University decided to dedicate a small exhibition to it. In one of the glamorous corridors of the main building, there are some cabinets, which host changing mini-exhibitions.

When it was announced that there was an exhibition about the bridge there, I decided I wanted to go and see it. When I had a chat with Jenny, my Welsh tutor, she also recommended it; she had already been. Unfortunately, when I am in the building, I often have stuff to do and places to get to immediately afterwards, so for months I didn't go. But then I was on main campus for the second and last round of catch up dissertation presentations, and so many students didn't show up I had time to go and have a look before I needed to be somewhere else.

This also means this post is out of sequence! I have already blogged about what happened in the weekend. I forgot this draft was there.

The exhibition is not big, but I thought it was amazing! It started with the old route between London and Dublin, which relies on several ferries, including one over the Menai Strait. I had no idea the original ferry went from the sand flats. That doesn’t sound ideal! But later it moved to a mainland landing site that’s dry at both high and low water.

In the 18th century already, there were goals for a bridge. There were all sorts of people who were either very much in favour very much opposed. Several different designs.

Did you get the decision to go with the particular design Ford came up with. And then the construction. And then it was done.

Bite of the process, obviously, without photographic evidence. But that came in somewhere along the way. I really like seeing the whole process develop in written, drawn or photographically documented evidence. I might just come back to admire it another time!