NHER 41847 (Monument) - Marshland Free Bridge

Constructed in 1873 with an ornate iron superstructure supported on cylinders of cast iron filled with concrete. Bridge constructed on west side and rolled out over cylinders, the first time this method of construction had been used in Britain. After around 50 years had elapsed, the bridge had become so unsafe that traffic passing over it was limited to 5 miles per hour.
In 1925 it was replaced by a bowstring girder bridge immediately to the north of the Marshland Free Bridge. The Marshland Free Bridge remained standing until 1942 when it was demolished and the metal parts recycled for use during the Second World War. Its eight piers remained. These were reused in 1969 to support the largest Bailey bridge ever constructed by the British Army, the bowstring bridge of 1925 having been declared unsafe. This temporary bridge was used for a year while a replacement was constructed alongside it.
The piers still remain and are an important survival.
See (S1).
E. Rose (NLA), 5 July 2005. Amended A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 9 May 2019.

(S2) in file also shows the wooden bridge of 1820 that preceded the 1873 bridge.
E. Rose (NLA), 26 September 2006.

In 1973 the piers were used to support another Bailey bridge so that construction materials, machinery and waste could be transported for the King's Lynn southern bypass without hindering traffic.
Information from (S1).
W. Arnold (HES), 17 January 2011.