BRIDGE FINALLY AGREED
Reported on an 1886 meeting: “Alderman Evershed and Councillor Chamberlain convened a meeting at Stapenhill to consider improvements to Stapenhill Ferry. The Major, who presided, said the ferry was 100 years out of date and a footbridge was urgently needed. He said that Lord Angelsey had a life interest in the ferry rights and the whole of the estate was in the hands of the trustees. There was a clear income of £560 from the ‘rights’. His proposition ‘that the delay and inconvenience of the present ferry boat, especially on dark and foggy nights, was intolerable and that the meeting approve the desire of the trustees of Lord Anglesey to erect a footbridge, and earnestly support them in taking prompt action to carry out the work’, was carried”.

Hopes were raised when, in 1865, the Marquis of Angelsey obtained an Act of Parliament authorizing him ‘to build and maintain a bridge over the river Trent, near the town of Burton-upon-Trent, at or near the site of Stapenhill ferry, with approaches thereto’. This bridge was originally intended to be a second river crossing that was on par or better than the existing Burton Bridge. Plans for a traffic carrying bridge were drawn up but, much to the dismay and disappointment of the many ferry users, the work never progressed beyond the planning stage. The ferry users were still hopeful that a river crossing would still be built by some other means and it was generally perceived that the Marquis of Angelsey was responsible for the halting of the proceedings.

Almost a decade later, still frustrated, the inhabitants of Stapenhill began a new determined campaign to push their demands for a second bridge to coincide with the local elections. Any candidate seeking election for that ward on the Town Council would not have stood any chance of winning had they not given their whole-hearted support in favour of these fervent calls to be met.

After still more years of inactivity, in 1885 the Marquis of Anglesey applied for new parliamentary approval, but this time, only to erect a much less ambitious footbridge over the river Trent near the site of the Stapenhill ferry and to sell the rights and the ferry to the Burton Corporation. The application was approved in 1886 but the general sentiments were that the sum being asked by the Marquis were much too high.

After considerable time and frustrating negotiations between the council and the Marquis, Sir Michael Arthur Bass (later to become Lord Burton) came forward with a generous offer to build a footbridge at his own expense, as long as the council bought the rights from the Marquis. After still more delays due to further negotiations between the Marquis and the Council over remuneration, terms were eventually agreed upon with the Marquis agreeing to sell the rights for the Ferry and the Bridge for the then substantial sum of £12,950 from the Corporation.

Having acquired the rights, the Corporation agreed to retain the services of the men who had worked the ferry and to arrange for the purchasing of the boats from Mr Darling, the agent of the Marquis of Anglesey.

A letter was received by the Town Council in January 1888 from Messrs. J & W.J. Drewery, stating that the completion of the purchase of the ferry could now be entered upon. The committee recommended that a cheque for £12,950 be forwarded in favour of the bankers of the Marquis of Anglesey’s Trustees and that one of £32 19s 6d balance on account for outstanding tolls. To put this is perspective, ferry toll receipts for the final month were recorded as £67 10s 5d.

Lord Burton finally selected Messrs. Thornewill and Warham Limited, a highly esteemed local engineering company, to erect the bridge and, after design plans and costs had been agreed, work was at last commenced in 1888.

THE BRIDGE BUILDER
Thornewill & Warham Engineering Limited was established in Burton during the late 1830s with a partnership between local engineer, Robert Thornewill (pictured) and John Robson Warham, an engineer from South Shields. Its main concern was the manufacture of pumping and winding engines, most for Midland’s collieries.

By 1861, the company had 178 employees and had expanded into manufacturing steam locomotives for the local breweries. By 1870, it had a national reputation for producing steam engines and began to export engines all over the world. It gradually acquired more land to build a large site that extended between New Street and Park Street adding a number of iron foundries. During its continued growth, Thornewill & Warham supplied the majority of all iron-work for the rapidly expanding brewery construction projects.

In 1883,the company was approached to supply a substantial iron bridge to replace the wooden footbridge that linked the main town to Andressy island. The following year, in 1884, the new impressive Andressey Bridge was opened to great success. This made them natural candidates for the construction of a new Ferry Bridge. Not wishing to be cynical, it may also have helped slightly that Lord Burton was married to Robert Thornewill’s daughter.

Whilst the company was enthusiastic to supply the proposed bridge, they didn’t have anyone within the company with sufficient bridge building experience to erect a bridge of such span when it was agreed that the bridge would require some sort of suspension design. Mr Edward William Ives played the main role in designing the bridge. He had been involved with a number of construction projects for Thornewill and Warham, including the Andressey Bridge built a few years earlier. However, he had never designed a bridge of such span and so the services of Mr Langley were sought. Mr Langley was an eminent engineer in the Midland Railway Company. With strong bridge building experience for the railway industry, he took great interest in both the design and construction of the bridge and made his full engineering experience available.

The large factory of Thornewill and Warhams was between New Street and Park Street. In its glory days, it was difficult to imagine such an engineering company ever disappearing. Around forty years after the construction of the Ferry Bridge however, the company had disappeared in the decline of heavy engineering. The site was taken over by S. Briggs and Company in the 1929. The remainder of the assets were acquired by the new ‘Burton Copper and Engineering’ which started in an abandoned brewery in Moor Street. The site was finally vacated when S. Briggs was re-located to Derby Street to make way for the new Octagon Shopping Centre leaving no trace.

One of a number of plaques to commemorate the builders

THE BRIDGE
The original work was for the Ferry Bridge itself but did not yet include the causeway. For a few years, there would still be a path across the meadows between the Ferry Bridge and Burton. The Ferry Bridge was 240 feet in length and had a walkway width of ten feet.

The construction of the bridge was on a suspension principle. Its distinctive feature being the chains which are made of flat bar iron, riveted to the ends of the main girders. These chains are continuous from one end to the other and are not anchored at the ends as they would normally would be on a traditional suspension design. This form of construction had not been previously used and was the first bridge in Europe to be constructed in this way.

It spanned the river in three sections, supported by four cast iron piers, five feet in diameter. These were placed in pairs fifteen feet apart from centre to centre. The piers were sunk to a depth from twelve to fifteen feet below the bed of the river to a solid foundation of marl and sandstone. The centre section was 115 feet long with the two symmetric end sections measuring 57 feet. The bridge stood eleven feet above the average water level at the centre and nine feet above the water at each end.

The cylinders were filled with solid concrete and on top of this was built three feet of non-porous engineering blue bricks cemented together. Finally, to complete the foundation, was an ashlar stone bed onto which the towers were erected.

The towers were cased externally with ornamental cast-iron work and stood 23 feet 6 inches high, the bases being panelled and decorated with the arms and supporters of Lord Burton, together with his motto – ‘Basis Virtutum Constantia’ (The basis of virtue is constancy). The towers were surmounted with lions rampant and carried wrought-iron staffs with gilded copper vanes and his monogram. They were indeed a great tribute to the superb Victorian craftsmanship that existed in the Town.

The bridge is 240 feet long and the roadway is 10 feet wide. It crosses the River Trent in three spans, the centre span being 115 feet wide between the piers and the two side spans each being 57 feet wide between the piers and the stone abutments. The height of the underside of the bridge from the average water level is 9 feet at the ends and 11 feet in the middle.

The towers over which the chains pass are carried on four cylindrical piers and are placed in 2 pairs, 15 feet apart from centre to centre, 5 feet in diameter (the diameter of the cylinders was fixed upon as providing the smallest area inside which the men could conveniently work) and are sunk to a depth from 12 to 15 feet below the bed of the river to a solid foundation of marl and sandstone.

The water was pumped out of the cylinders by a pulseometer supplied with steam by a portable boiler and the earth and rock was hoisted to the surface in a bucket. Large piles were driven at the sides of the cylinders to keep them vertical and to strengthen the overall structure. The cylinders were filled with concrete and upon this is laid 3 feet of blue bricks and a stone bed onto which the towers were erected.

The towers are contracted of wrought-iron lattice work 2′ 3-1/2″ (two feet three and a half inches) at the bottom to 1′ 4-1/2″ (one foot four and a half inches) at the top and 20’3″ high. They are braced together at the top by a lattice girder 11-1/4″ (Eleven and a quarter inches) deep. The towers are cased externally with ornamental cast iron work 23’6″ high, the bases being paneled and decorated with the arms and supporters of Lord Burton and his motto: Basis virtutum constantia. The towers are surmounted with lions rampant (his lordships supporters) carrying wrought-iron staffs with gilded copper veins with his monogram.

The girders are continuous from one end of the bridge to the other. They are 6 feet deep, the top and bottom flanges are made of “T” iron 6″ by 6″ by 1/2″ thick. The lattice bars 3″ by 3/8″ of flat iron and stiffened by double angle irons and gusset plates. The longitudinal girders are tied together by lattice cross girders 12″ deep in the middle and 6″ deep at the ends, and wind ties of flat iron are also placed between these girders. The longitudinal girders formed the parapet of the bridge, the top and bottom flanges being cased with ornamental iron work, and the junction of the lattice bars enriched with ornamental castings.

The chains are made of flat bars 3 inches thick, riveted in the middle of the centre span and at the ends of the bridge to the main girders. The piers and towers are placed outside the main girders, which increases the resistance of the bridge to wind pressure, the distance between the chains being wider at the tower than at the middle and ends of the girders. The chains are simply riveted to the ends of the girders and not anchored to the masonry of the abutments, so that the whole bridge is self contained. The main girders are hung from the chains by suspension rods one and a half inches in diameter. The roadway was originally red deal 3 inches higher in the middle than at the sides to allow run off of rain water.

The bridge was tested by loading the middle section of the bridge with several tons of old rails and its rigidity was further tested by 20 men from the Staffordshire regiment marching at double time across the bridge. This was considered the most severe test that a suspension bridge could be exposed too. The lattice girders which tie the towers together are cased with more ornamental iron work bearing the date of the erection of the bridge, 1889 and underneath this the inscription The gift of Michael Arthur First Baron Burton.

The bridge was lit by two lamps hanging from each of the cross braces between the towers and the heavy cast iron lamp pillars in character with the towers at the ends of the bridge, bearing four more lamps. Lord Burton also diverted the pathway so as it was to make it lead directly to the bridge from the fleetstones and replaced the small wooden bridge over the ditch cut to the silver way with a small lattice girder bridge of similar design to the main bridge.

The total weight of the iron work of the bridge is over 200 tons. The stone abutments were built by Messrs Lowe and Sons, and the carving of the patterns being executed by Mr Hilton of Victoria Street Burton. The total cost of the structure including the diversion of the roadway the iron work approach, the small bridge, the earth work embankments, and the purchase of the land for the improvement of the roadway on the Stapenhill side of the river was between £6000-£7000. Once built the bridge was testament to the quality of the local workforce and the expertise of the contractors concerned.

THE OPENING
In early 1889, Sir Michael Arthur Bass (still not yet Lord Burton) contacted the Mayor and advised him that the bridge would be completed and an official opening day was set for Wednesday 3 April 1889. The bridge was decorated bridge the day before and crowds began to assemble early. From early morning, many people crowded onto the ferryboat to take the opportunity of a trip on the very last day of operation. The weather was wet and stormy which was a big disappointing. Nonetheless, a crowd estimated at between eight and ten thousand assembled on the Burton side of the river alone. Although heavy grey clouds filled the sky, the rain held off, but it was still uncertain as to whether Sir Michael, who had not been too well, would be able to attend the ceremony. Fortunately, these fears were unfounded.

Sir Michael Bass and his party drove from Rangemore Hall to Stapenhill House, residence of C.J. Clay JP. Stapenhill House occupied the upper terrace of what is now Stapenhill Pleasure Gardens and the whole of what is now Stapenhill gardens belonged to the house with a tennis court occupying the place now taken by Burton’s iconic white swan. The party walked down Jerram’s Lane to the Ferry Bridge and word was given to stop the ferry boat at ten minutes to ten in readiness for its one final historic trip which would carry the opening party.

Cheers from the crowd which had reached an estimated 8,000-10,000, rang out as the party crossed the bridge and boarded the ferry boat on the Burton side. Mrs Burton entered first, followed in order by Sir Michael Arthur Bass, Sir W. and Mrs Plowden, Sir Michael’s brother-in-law, the Hon. Miss Bass, the Mayor and Mrs Harrison, Misses Kathleen and Violet Thornewill, the daughters of Mr and Mrs. Thornewill, Mr and Mrs C.J. Clay and Mr G. Burton.

On the front row above are Mrs Harrison, Sir M.A. Bass (later Lord Burton), Nellie Bass (with Misses Kathleen and Violet Thornewill), Mr C. Harrison (Mayor), Mrs Bass.

Safely across, they went up on to the bridge for the formalities. The Mayor presented Mrs Burton with a boatshaped fruit dish in solid silver, its engravings including a representation of the bridge and an appropriate inscription. The work had been carried out by Mr A.J. Wright, jeweller of 170 High Street. Sir Bass was then given an elaborate illuminated address subscribed for by over 5,000 people. Sir W. Plowden MP replied on behalf of Sir Michael who had a throat infection and proceedings were handed over to the Mayor.

Title deeds in connection with the bridge were officially handed over to pass responsibility of the structure to the Corporation. Following an introductory speech of thanks by Mayor Harrison, Mrs Burton was invited to declare the bridge open. Stepping to one side of the bridge, Mrs Burton, speaking in a clear voice said, “I declare this bridge open, and I hope it will be of great benefit to the public”. The declaration was greeted with much loud cheering and flag and handkerchief waving and in the distance, the bells of both St. Paul’s Church and those of St. Modwen’s rang out.

The official party then adjourned to St Paul’s Institute a substancial banquet with many courses, toasts and long speeches. It was here that Sir Michael Bass announced to the guests his proposal to erect a raised causeway across the meadows to provide a safe crossing from the Ferry Bridge to Burton, avoiding the muddy trek from the Fleetstones bridge across the meadows to the new Ferry Bridge. This generous proposal was welcomed with enthusiasm from those present.

The public cheerfully crossed and re-crossed the bridge free of charge for the day and no doubt drank in local hostelries to the words on a banner draped across The Dingle – ‘Three Cheers For Bass’.

Once the bridge had been opened, it was featured in the ‘Illustrated London News’ – the World’s first illustrated newspaper founded in 1842 by Herbert Ingram who went on to become editor of Punch magazine.

The Illustrated London News enjoyed a country-wide weekly distribution of around 25,000 making it a major publication at the time and helped to put the Ferry Bridge on the map.

NEW FERRY BRIDGE
After purchase of the rights, there was further delay due to the fact that Sir Michael Bass wished for the bridge to be free of toll. A compromise was eventually reached and it was agreed to charge a toll of one half-penny per person until the Corporation had recovered the money for the purchase of the ferry rights. The Town Council decided to spend £50 on the erection of two turnstiles on the Stapenhill side of the bridge in order to enable them to accomplish this aim.

A Mr and Mrs Whitney were appointed by the Town Corporation as toll-keepers and notice boards were erected providing the opening and closing times of the bridge and the toll fees for using it. Although there was no cause for the Ferry to still operate, the new bridge still had a toll to recover the cost of construction. The Ferry House was therefore occupied by Ferry Bridge Toll Collectors who were now employed by the Town Corporation though the much lighter job probably didn’t warrant having a house supplied with it!

However, Thomas Whitney and his wife Anne moved in as Toll-Keepers and they were, not altogether surprisingly, still occupants of the Ferry house ten years later, in 1901. By now, Thomas Whitney’s occupation was recorded as ‘Corporation Labourer’ since the Ferry Bridge was freed of toll three years earlier in 1898.

At the banquet at St Paul’s Institute following the official opening, Sir Bass had announced that he was to erect a raised causeway across the meadows join the Ferry Bridge to Burton. A few days after the ceremony, the Town Council received a letter from Sir Michael dated 9th April 1889, confirming his proposal. The erection of an iron viaduct was begun and this was presented to the town in 1890. This elevated the total cost of the bridge from around £7,000 to £10,000.

At the time the causeway was built, it had to cross another branch of the river which was a common play area in the summer. The slightly raised section can still be seen but the river has long gone.

A new Ordanance Survey map was prepared in 1900 which showed the Ferry Bridge and Causeway officially ‘on the map’!

The bridge soon became the subject of a number of Burton postcards.

TOLL FREE
On April 21st 1898, the ‘Burton Chronicle’ reported:

“Lord Burton’s latest donation to the town is a cheque for £230 to clear the Ferry Bridge of its debts. Ever since the structure was built, he has received a yearly statement of accounts, showing the progress of the tolls which it was necessary to create to pay off the loan of nearly £13,000, the price paid to the Marquis of Anglesey for his ferry rights. On the receipt a short time ago of the last balance sheet, he decided to wipe off the incubus, so the people have witnessed the freeing of the bridge two months earlier than anticipated”.

The early freeing of the toll on April 13th 1898 came as a complete surprise. A Stapenhill resident at the time, Mr Harold Lewis, who used the Ferry Bridge on a regular basis recalled walking across on his journey to work in Burton, where he was employed by Messrs. Worthington’s in their brewery offices. He and other travellers, not to mention the Town Council, all expected the enforcement of the toll to continue for several more months.

The Council had no opportunity to give notice of Lord Burton’s generous offer to wipe out the remaining debts on the ferry rights so on the way home from his work at the brewery, Mr Lewis stopped as usual, to purchase a weekly ticket from the toll collectors, Mr and Mrs Whitney, at a cost of 4d. The next morning, on his way to work, he went to present his ticket to a non-existent collector, for unknown to Mr Lewis, the bridge had been declared free of toll the previous night.

Many users of the Ferry Bridge retained their toll tickets dated April 13th 1898, as a souvenir as a momento of the last day of a toll being charged.

On the shelter positioned on the causeway, it is still possible to read the declaration:

THIS BRIDGE AND VIADUCT
WERE PRESENTED TO THE BOROUGH OF BURTON UPON TRENT
BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE MICHAEL ARTHUR BARON BURTON
AND THE BRIDGE WAS DECLARED FREE OF TOLL BY THE CORPORATION
ON THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF APRIL 1898

The following Sunday, April 24th 1898, was the first free Sunday on the bridge. A kind of ‘Children’s Carnival’ took place on that warm Spring day, when lots of children attended the bridge to celebrate the freeing of the toll. The only person who failed to appreciate the occasion, apparently, was an old blind beggar who regularly stood at the Stapenhill end of the bridge, hoping to receive a few coppers from the public using the crossing. The youngsters had great fun, tormenting the poor chap mercilessly, whilst being watchful of his stout cudgel which kept them at bay. Happily, no one came to any harm on this day of light-hearted fun and celebration, when people could look forward to taking the walk to town free and forever more.

Taken in 1915 from across the river, the above photo gives a marvellous view of Stapenhill House, whose grounds eventually became Stapenhill Gardens, with the Ferry Bridge in the foreground providing a very good feel of how imposing the house would have been to people walking across the bridge.

As cycling gained ever increasing popularity with the public, both for pleasure and as an easy and convenient way of getting to work, people were tempted into cycling across the bridge and viaduct This was strictly prohibited and notices made of cast-iron were erected at both the Stapenhill and Burton approaches to the crossing, warning the public that they risked a fine of forty shillings (£2.00) if they were caught breaking the law in this regard.

Despite this, a great number of the public chose to ignore these warnings and over the long period that these restrictions remained in force, many of them found themselves in court after being confronted by a waiting member of the police force, who were occasionally instructed to stand at one end or other of the bridge to catch perpatrators. They would also quite often have to suffer the indignity of reading their name in the Burton Mail in the list of court cases

As time went by, the fine for cycling across the bridge rose considerably, eventually rising to as much as £10.00. It became common practice to traverse the bridge by standing on a pedal with one foot and scooting along with the other and quickly stepping off to resume walking at the first sight of a police uniform.

In recent years, restrictions on cycling were finally lifted and a special, narrow cycling lane was marked out across the whole length of the bridge and viaduct. The bridge and viaduct remain in good use and a new tunnel was added when the new Saint Peters Bridge was built so that the causeway could be retained.

For a brief period, there was another ‘ferry’, The ‘Dingle Belle’, this time for pleasure and operating from the Stapenhill Gardens side of the Ferry Bridge. This was a private enterprise intended to commemorate the days of the ferry with pleasure trips up and down the river, beginning and ending at the Ferry Bridge. It can be seen in the above picture, fittingly taken through the Ferry Bridge, at its small loading jetty.

Unfortunately, after the initial novelty, it failed to attract enough ongoing business to make it viable.

COUNCILLOR C.H.DOBSON
After James Dalton, the person probably most associated with the Stapenhill Ferry House is Councillor C.H.Dobson.

Mr Dobson brought the Ferry House in 1911 for him to set up a business on the ferry site as a Boat Builder, where he later became a well-known and respected figure in the community. The business thrived and during the summer months, the hiring of boats at the ferry in order to take a pleasant trip up or down the river, proved to be very popular with people.

The river, however was not without its dangers, and Mr Dobson, who had served throughout the 1914-18 War, was called upon at least three times during his time at the ferry, to launch himself into the river to save someone from drowning. In 1943, he was honoured with the Parchment of the Royal Humane Society for Gallantry for saving a woman from drowning in the River Trent. Mr Dobson was also a member of Burton Town Council, to which he was first elected in 1937, as a representative of the Uxbridge Ward.

The Burton Observer reported on 22nd July 1943:

BURTON COUNCILLOR’S RIVER RESCUE
Mr C.H. Dobson Receives Parchment from Mayor.
Before the start of the ordinary business of the monthly
meeting of Burton Town Council last week, the Mayor,
Councillor F.G.Thompson, presented to Councillor C.H.Dobson
the parchment of the Royal Humane Society, for gallantry in
saving a woman from drowning in the river Trent last
February.

The Mayor read a letter from a witness of the “timely and
plucky rescue” by Councillor Dobson who jumped fully clothed
into about six feet ot flowing water.

The Mayor said that he believed this was the third occasion
on which Councillor Dobson had saved people from drowning in
the river Trent but as he was a very modest man, no formal
recognition had hitherto been shown towards him.

Making the presentation of the parchment to Councillor
Dobson, the Mayor said: “We know full well that Councillors
are brave men; they have to be to stand up and air their
convictions, but Councillor Dobson has gone a little bit
further by showing that apart from being a man of words, he
is also a man of deeds”.

“You have done great credit to us as a body and we are
grateful to you for your example”, the Mayor told Councillor
Dobson.

The Council endorsed these remarks by acclamation.

Mr Dobson continued to run his business at the ferry site successfully for many years although, on occasions, he was presented with a few headaches when the Trent was in flood. On November 27th 1954, the water rose dramatically, flooding his main workshop to a depth of several feet. The flood water receded later the following week, when Mr Dobson was photographed by a cameraman from the Burton Observer, busy at work in his flooded boathouse wearing Wellington’s, the water still a few inches deep, lapping around his ankles.

In or around 1959, he and his son, John, moved to Shardlow where they carried on the business of Boat Building, after selling the premises at Stapenhill. In January 1969, Mr Dobson died at the age of 78 years, at his home at Shardlow.

The ferry site business was purchased from Mr Dobson by two brothers, Ronald and John Sheffield, whose intentions were to continue the business of hiring boats out to the public and run the enterprise much the same as their predecessors. Sadly, this was not to be, for after only three years or so they were forced to give up the business because of continued acts of vandalism by selfish, mindless individuals, who were responsible for damaging the boats, throwing oars into the river and causing many other problems for the owners. The business was sold and the brothers moved to premises in Burton-on-Trent, where they began another enterprise which they ran successfully and trouble free, under the name of ‘Ideal Insulations’.

The Ferry House and boat-yard changed hands perhaps two or three times following the departure of the Sheffields’ but boats continued being available for hire at the ferry site, but a few were sold off, some of which were in use some years later on the boating lake at Drayton Manor Theme Park, still clearly displaying in white lettering, ‘Stapenhill Ferry’.

Around 1974 the premises were acquired by Mr and Mrs R. Collins, who bought the site and replaced old and rotting boats with new ones. They then had a mobile home moved on to the site where they started the planning and building of a riverside restaurant, after tearing down the old and dilapidated boathouses. The new restaurant, which took a year to build, was called, ‘The Boathouse Restaurant’, and was officially opened on Saturday, 26th. April 1975, by actor Stephen Hancock, otherwise known as ‘Ernie Bishop’, a star in the television soap, ‘Coronation Street’.

1969 ‘RESTORATION’ (Rape)
In 1969, some eighty years after the bridge had been erected the elements had taken their toll on the structure. The outer metal casing on the huge piers that supported the bridge had started to rust and, in places, had cracked, allowing water to seep inside the casing. Specialists were called in to examine the whole structure.

BEFORE

After close and careful examination, they came to the conclusion that the heavy, ornamental cladding had put too much weight on the structure and should be immediately removed, along with much of the decorative ironwork, including the four very attractive Victorian gas lamps, which had been mounted high on the structure at each end of the approaches to the bridge.

AFTER

Rust had eaten into the metal work which supported the lamps and they were in danger of collapsing, as were other decorative embellishments which had adorned the bridge. The Burton Borough Engineer and Surveyor, Mr J.P. Wain, in his report to the Burton Town Council, advised the sealing of the cracks in the piers with concrete in order to prevent the same thing happening again and he recommended the stripping off altogether of the ornamental ironwork, which was in urgent need of attention. Mr Wain suggested that the iron-work should be treated with metal preserver, re-painted and then restored to their original fixtures on the bridge.

Early in February 1969, the headlines in an edition of the Burton Mail reported the serious condition of the bridge to its readers, who were deeply concerned to learn that the Ferry Bridge was actually in danger of being demolished. This concern was also voiced in a national daily newspaper which stated in its report that ‘Burton was in danger of losing its famous Ferry Bridge’. A suggestion had been put forward that the bridge should be dismantled altogether, and a new one built. It was estimated that a new bridge would cost the ratepayers in the region of £60,000. To everyone’s relief, the recommendations of the borough surveyor were accepted and the job of renovating the bridge began.

The bridge was first enveloped by a network of metal scaffolding to enable workmen to carry out the necessary renovations and the long and arduous task at last got underway, a task which carried on throughout most of the year. Eventually, with the all the necessary work completed and the scaffolding finally removed and taken away, it was found that the bridge had taken on a rather different appearance. Stripped of much of its decorative iron-work, the bridge appeared almost naked, and a stark contrast from its original state, much to the dismay and disappointment of many local people who had speculated that the bridge was to be restored to its former glory.

To add to the disappointment, the attractive burgundy and cream coat of the original had been replaced with a stark black and white which contributed to its much worse appearance.

THE FUTURE
The bridge continues to decay with no since attempts by anyone to have the bridge restored. The original lanterns and much of the ornamental iron-work and cladding remained locked away in storage. The skill and meticulous care and attention to detail that the Victorian craftsmen had taken in order to create such an impressive structure for the use and enjoyment of future generations would turn in their graves.

The causeway has also proved to be every bit as good an investment in the town as the Ferry Bridge itself. The washlands are prone to being extremely water-logged when the river is high and a simple footpath across the meadows would on many occasions have made the walk between Stapenhill and Burton impassable. The above picture shows the viaduct saving the day in 1910.

Even in modern times, the river has swelled to within a few inches of the raised walkway. The above picture was taken in 2007. A few years earlier, the lowest section had a small section with water lapping over the edge demonstrating that the necessary height was judged to perfection. At no point in well over a hundred years has the route been unavailable to the many walkers that have come to rely on it.

The Burton Civic Society, presented a Design Award for the renovation of the Ferry House and a commemorative plaque dated 1978 can be seen on the front of the building. Some initial work has been done in making a case for the restoration of the Ferry Bridge and, for the sake of Burton’s heritage, it is hoped that this if effective before it has to be demolished and replaced by a featureless concrete section.

One thing is unfortunately for sure; it will never again see its original splendour.

Saint Peter’s Church, also commonly known locally as Stapenhill Church, is featured because it has special significance, firstly because it occupies one of the earlier sites of worship in Burton, secondly, because I got married there!

Select page to view:

• General History
• Stained Windows
• Church Clock
• Fonts
• Alabaster
• Tower Views

EARLY HISTORY
The fact that Stapenhill church is dedicated to Saint Peter suggests that it may have foundation that preceeded the conquest since this dedication was most common in the Anglo-Saxon period. The church could well have had minister status in the late 11th century when it is known that there were chapels at Stanton (then Heathcote), Newhall and Drakelow as well as one in Caldwell, recorded in 1280. It is recorded that a plot of land once belonging to a chaplain in Brizlincote was assigned to the chamberlain of Burton abbey in 1326 which suggests a chapel there too. All came under the Stapenhill parish and were to be served by Saint Peter’s.

According to an early 16th-century history of the abbots of Burton, Stapenhill church was given to the abbey by Abbot Beohtric. After the dissolution of the abbey by Henry VIII, the patronage, like most of Burton, was passed to William Paget, his close advisor.

Not all holdings of Burton abbey in Stapenhill were not fully integrated into Stapenhill parish. Some houses near Stapenhill church and the hall at Brizlincote Farm were in Burton parish for ecclesiastical purposes, although residents there were often buried at Stapenhill.

In 1650 parliament advocated that these outlying parishes should also come under the Stapenhill parish. The transer did eventually happen, but not until 1864 – 214 years after the suggestion was made!

In 1884, the river Trent was the dividing line between Staffordshire and Derbyshire so Stapenhill was in Derbyshire; it was therefore transferred from the Lichfield diocese, which was in Staffordshire, to the newly-established diocese of Southwell, where it remained until 1927 when it was taken into the Derby diocese.

In 1925, Saint Peter’s was transferred to the Church Association Trust which later became the Church Society Trust.

INCOME AND PROPERTY
In the 1150s the priest at Stapenhill was assigned some tithes by the abbey. When Bishop William Cornhill (1214-23) confirmed the abbey’s ownership of the church there, he stipulated the institution of a vicar. The order was repeated by Bishop Alexander Stavensby in 1230, and following the resignation of the church by John de Caen, presumably the rector, in the same year a vicarage was ordained; the abbey was inducted as rector in 1231.

There appear to have been later disputes about the endowment of the vicarage, and in 1268 the bishop confirmed that the abbey as rector was entitled to the tithe of corn throughout the parish, including its chapelries of Caldwell, Drakelowe, and Newhall, and also the tithe of hay and the small tithes from its demesne land. The vicar was to have the tithe of hay and the small tithes from other land, together with a house in Stapenhill and parcels of glebe land in various parts of the parish.

The church income was valued at £15 13s 4d a year in 1291.

In 1535 the abbey received £10 a year, probably representing the great tithes, and the vicar received only £2 10s (13 shillings from glebe, 16 shillings from small tithes, and 21 shillings from offerings), the vicar however, also received an annual payment of £3 6s 8d from the lords of Newhall (presumably in lieu of tithes).

By 1650 the church income had grown to £43 6s 8d a year, together with £5 for Caldwell. In 1665 the vicar still claimed all the small tithes, but by 1668 Caldwell paid a modus of £6, as did Stanton and Newhall by 1693. The Caldwell modus was evidently disputed, but was confirmed in 1676 by an agreement which required the vicar to preach once a month at Caldwell.

In 1707 the vicar received £31 from glebe and tithes and £12 3s from moduses, together with Easter offerings, fees, and small rents. Owen Lloyd, vicar from 1768 to 1813, disputed the Caldwell modus in 1773, and by decision of the House of Lords in 1777 he was restored the small tithes there, worth c. £40 a year. The Stanton and Newhall payment was disputed by his successor in 1815, but the defendants argued that it was not in fact a modus but rather a pension derived from there once having been a chapel at Newhall. The vicar’s claim was evidently dismissed, and he still received the payment in 1841.

At inclosure in 1773 the vicar was assigned 24 acres on Stapenhill heath in lieu of small tithes from ancient inclosures, and in 1841 the total glebe was 86 acres. It was probably as a result of the renting of glebe to brickmakers that the vicar’s net income had risen by 1831 to £373, out of which he paid £93 to the curate of Caldwell.

There was a vicarage house of two bays in 1665, enlarged to four bays by 1698. Owen Lloyd left it in a ruinous condition, and it was still uninhabitable in 1831. A new house, east of the church on what was probably the same site, was built in the late 1830s by John Clay who was vicar from 1837 to 1877, even though Clay lived in a family house near the church. The 19th century vicarage house was sold in the late 1960s and the present vicarage built to the west on the main road.

CHURCH LIFE
William Bradshaw, a noted puritan divine, was suspended from his lectureship at Chatham, Kent, in 1602. Following this, he was supported by Alexander Redich of Newhall and began to preach in a private chapel in Redich’s grounds. As the congregation grew larger, Bradshaw moved into Stapenhill church, and he continued to preach there, as well helping to conduct a ‘common exercise’ in the Burton area. He died on a visit to London in 1618. Another puritan, John Lucas, was appointed as vicar in 1647, and in 1650 he was described as being ‘of good conversation’.

The registers, now held at Matlock, date back to 1679.

Soon after Owen Lloyd became vicar in 1768, he began to celebrate holy communion at Michaelmas, in addition to Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun, and in the earlier 1770s there were between 30 and 40 communicants. A sermon was preached every Sunday morning. A stipendiary curate, Hugh Jones, served Stapenhill for the absentee vicar Henry Des Voeux in 1824; Jones was also the curate at St. Modwen’s in Burton, where he lived. In 1829 the curate was Joseph Clay, the son of the Burton banker Joseph Clay (d. 1824). The younger Joseph retired because of ill health, and his brother John was curate in 1834, becoming vicar in 1837. He died in office in 1877. In 1851 there were two Sunday services, with average attendances of 140 in the morning and 180 in the evening; there was also a Sunday school.

The growing number of brickyard workers caused the vicar to engage a scripture reader in the early 1850s, and in 1869 a mission room was opened in Short Street, doubling up as a board school from 1874. Another mission room opened at the southeast end of Stanton Road in 1884 was served from Christ Church, in Burton. The parish church itself was completely rebuilt on a much larger scale in 1881 to accommodate the increased population.

The services were formerly mainstream Church of England, but the church now has an evangelical ethos and there is a strong supporting lay ministry.

In 1874 the vicar proposed to convert the boys’ day school at the north end of Stanton Road into a parish reading room and library. The present building there was erected by subscription in 1891 and was vested in diocesan trustees in 1900. Later known as the Glebe School, the building was restored in 1988 and was used in 1999 mainly as a church hall.

CHURCH BUILDING
Nothing survives of the medieval church of St. Peter, but an 18th-century drawing shows a building whose exterior was mainly of 13th-century date with a chancel, nave, and two-stage west tower with crenellated parapet.

The nave and possibly the chancel were probably aisled on the north side. Internally, however, that building included earlier features such as a roundheaded chancel arch, possibly of pre-Conquest date, and the nave was probably of a length found in many Anglo-Saxon churches. The nave and tower were demolished in or shortly after 1780 and were replaced with an aisleless nave with a bell-turret at the west end. The cost was probably met by local subscription, the chancel being left untouched presumably because Lord Paget as the rector was not prepared to pay for its rebuilding. A north gallery was erected in the nave in 1821. It was retained when the nave was rebuilt in the late 1830s under the direction of Henry Stevens of Derby and entirely at the expense of the new vicar, John Clay. The pulpit and reading desk were sited on the south side of the chancel arch, and the new work included the addition of a south porch and a west tower with tall lancet windows and pinnacles. The chancel was demolished in 1860 or 1861, again with Stevens as architect, and the nave was extended eastwards to form a new chancel with only a shallow projection. The pulpit and reading desk were separated, the former (or possibly a new one) being moved to the north side of the chancel arch.

The increase in population in the 1860s and 1870s necessitated a larger building, and money was raised to rebuild the church in its present form in 1881. The main benefactors were members of the Clay family and Burton brewing firms.

Above is the original Architects drawing by Evans and Jolly of Nottingham. The indicated date of 1880 AD was the original anticipated date and should not be taken as an historic record because it was not actually completed until some years later.

The church comprises a short chancel, short north and south transepts with north vestry, an aisled nave of four bays lit by clerestory windows, a small south porch, and an engaged south-west tower with pinnacles; there is also a door and internal porch under the tower. Derbyshire stone was used for the walls, with dressings of Bath and Ancaster stone. Internally, the organ was resited in a gallery at the west end of the nave and the pulpit placed in the centre of the chancel, flanked by prayer and lesson desks.

The upper stages of the present tower with its pinnacles were not yet completed in 1881 but were added soon afterwards in limestone. The west gallery was removed and the organ placed on the north side of the chancel in the early 20th century, when the chancel and south Lady chapel were refitted in an Art Nouveau style: a memorial east window in the Lady chapel is dated 1908.

A map prepared in the year that the new church was built shows that things were quite different at the time. There was not yet a Ferry Bridge and persons with business on the other side of the river had the options of paying the penny toll for the ferry and walking across the meadow, catching the house-drawn omibus from Stapenhill Green, close to Saint Peter’s for fourpence, or walking to the old trent bridge.

Stapenhill House dominates the area adjacent to the church with what was to become Stapenhill Gardens forming part of their private garden with a boathouse near the present day white swan monument.

Burial Graveyard
The burial graveyard around the church was no longer in use in the late nineteenth century. It was closed when Burton municipal cemetery was opened nearby in 1866. To compensate the church for the loss of income due to burials, the council maintain the grounds of what used to be the graveyard.

A photograph taken in 1900 shows a plain east window behind the alter. When an elderly Miss Eleanor Meynell attended the church, she is reputed to have remarked as much to her father, Canon Francis Meynell. Francis as a result became involved in the installation of the existing, much more impressive, stained glass window within the next few years, before the First World War.

It has many layers of symbolism. The main theme is a great early hymn sometimes called ‘A Creed in the form of the Adoration’ – Te Deum Laudamas.

It was very nicely deciphered in an article in the Saint Peter’s Parish Magazine in 1992 by Ray Earp.

At the top is the blue of the firmament with its heavenly bodies. The cinquefoil (five leaved plant) element in the centre depicts the Spirit in the form of the Heavenly Dove bringing down the Host and guarded by five angels. On either side are representations of the Archangels supported by Cherubim and Seraphim with musical instruments.

In the position of ascendancy, in the main body of the window, is the figure of Christ as Priest and King – Christus Pantocrator – Christ all powerful. He wears priestly robes of crimson and gives the blessing with two fingers folded, as was the custom in the early church. In his left hand he holds the whole world surmounted by the Cross as his orb. Round his head there are three shafts of light representing the Trinity, together with the crown of the Godhead. Notice that, unlike an earthly King, he has no sword of state or sceptre.

Below Him stands a guardian angel wearing the ‘whole armour’ with the ‘Sword of the Spirit’. His shield bears the emblem of St. George.

The remaining eight figures are paired.

Top left are the Apostles; St. Paul with his book and St. Peter with his key, a reminder that when Modwen returned from Rome to found her church at the foot of Mount Calvus (later to become Scalpcliffe Hill), she dedicated it to the glory of God and in honour of St. Peter & St. Paul – and part of this dedication we retain today.

Top right are the Prophets, Isaiah from the Old Testament and John the Baptist from the New Testament.

Below the Apostles comes the martyrs. Lower left are Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr and Saint Alban, the first British martyr.

Lower right represents the ‘Holy Catholic’ church throughout all the world’, in the form of Saint Modwen, holding a model of the church she founded here, together with Saint Chad, the first Saxon Bishop of Mercia who established himself at Lichfield, even before the kings of the day had settled residences.

At the foot of the window are three bishops mitres and arms which trace the history of our parish. In the centre we see Canterbury, in which province we are flanked, by Lichfield to the right and Southwell to the left since the window was completed before Derby Diocese was separated from Southwell.

To complete the window are two roundels with Christian symbolism. These are the triumphant Pascal Lamb and the Pelican in her Piety who plucked her breast to draw blood on which to feed her young, and so represents the demands made upon the church.

Other Stained Windows that can be enjoyed within Saint Peter’s Church…

Perhaps the most treasurered monument within the church is the engraved alabaster slab from the tomb recorded as that of Rev. William Dethick of Newhall and his wife, Margaret. This is though, slightly anomalous since priests could not marry before the Reformation and he died in 1497.

Newhall was one of numerous churches under the control of Saint Peter’s in Stapenhill. Despite having six sons and two daughters, as confirmed by the alabaster, he bequeathed an enormous £100 to Newhall parish and a further £100 to Hartshorne which was used to build a new church there.

Records show that the slab once stood in the chancel, next to the alter in the old church in an area usually reserved for Lords of the Manor. By 1822 it had been let into the floor and the altar rails partly covered it.

In 1876 it was moved to form part of the floor in the south porch of the old church, where it was often covered by the parish bier and the sexton’s implements, which accounts for much of the damage and making it very lucky to have survived in one piece.

It was thankfully, embedded upright into the wall near the main entrance, behind the bell-ringer, when the tower was added in 1884 where it now survives in relative safety.

The monument shows William Dethick in plate armour with his wife, Margaret, at his side. At their feet, as was common, are figures which represent his children showing that he had six sons and two daughters. William’s head rests on a tilting helmet with a nag’s head for a crest and at his feet is a ‘talbot’ guard dog.

William Dethick, who died in 1497, and his wife formed part of the long chain connecting the important Meynell and Dethick local families dating right back back to the 14th century.

The original design was thankfully preserved and the impression below can show how it would have looked over 600 years ago.

The monument was made from local material quarried at Fauld and worked in workshops at Burton where it would most likely have been delivered by river boat.

The alabaster trade flourished from the 14th – 17th centuries and two local names Royle and Arblaster are connected. Figures were incised into flat slabs and the incisions filled with intense black and bright red pigments. Almost all the local examples have been broken when moved leaving this one of the most intact examples.

The old circular stone font, which dates back to at least medieval times, was still in the old church in the early eighteen hundreds but was removed and remained ‘lost’ for several decades. It eventually turned up in a local farmyard in 1973 and identified as Saint Peters Font. Following its discovery, it was reinstated in the new church and is still situated at the east end of the north aisle. It can be seen below, but only the font bowl is original, the new pedestal was specially commissioned to support it but is in keeping with what it is expected the original pedestal would have been like.

A new font was installed in the old church in the 1830s but a new one was made for the new church when it was rebuilt in 1881.

The 1881 font itself replaced around 1930 by a marble one of Art Nouveau style. This still stands at the west end of the nave, close to the main entrance and can be seen below; the old font is however, still favoured for present day christenings.

Saint Peter’s Clock was not fitted when the church was built in 1881. It was fitted seventeen years later in 1898.

The clock was to be known as ‘The Warbeck Memorial Clock’ in memory of Rev. Edmund Warbeck B.A.who was vicar of Stapenhill from 1875 to 1897. There is a memorial tablet in the church in memory of his great contribution to the parish which reads:

THE CLOCK ON THE TOWER WAS ERECTED
BY PAST AND PRESENT PARISHIONERS
TO COMMEMORATE THE
FAITHFUL LABOURS, FOR 28 YEARS,
OF REV. EDMUND WARBECK B.A.
IN THE PARISH OF STAPENHILL
DIED MAY 9TH, 1897

The Clock itself was made It was made in Queen Victoria’s 60th Anniversary year (1897 – 1898) by John Smith & Sons Limited Of Derby, who were still in business in 2000.

The clock and bell cost £186 which, to put things in perspective, would buy a reasonable house at the time. This was a very large amount of money to raise but there were several generous contributions which is testament to how revered and respected Edmund Warbeck was.

The type of clock is a ‘Double three legged gravity escapement’, which probably won’t mean much more to you than it did to me, but significantly, it is exactly the same mechanism as employed in the Big Ben tower!

There are four dials, each 6 feet in diameter; the yearly inspection fee in 1900 was £3.10s.0d (£3.50p). Around 1920 the clock faces were painted and gilded at a total cost of £34 0s 0d. An estimate for the same work in 1995 was £2,150 (plus VAT)

The clock mechanism is enclosed in a wooden case to protect it from its dusty environment.

To the left of the cabinet are two large weights; the smaller one is used for the actual clock mechanism, the larger one is used for the chiming mechanism. Below, is an escape hatch and on the floor below, is a large container of fine sand to catch them should they fall to prevent them from crashing through a series of floors and into the main foyer.

The cables actually failed in around 1991 whilst the clock was being wound to put this safety measure to the test!

The mechanism itself has two separate winders. The left hand half is the clock mechanism and below it is the pendulum used to keep the time. Its swing takes one and a quarter seconds which means that it has 48 ‘ticks’ per minute. The right hand half controls the chime which strikes once for each hour, on the hour.

Winding the clock itself comprises fitting a handle in turn to each half and winding the weights to the top. It takes approximately seven days for the weights to lower back to the floor. A small weight within the cabinet provides energy whilst the clock is being wound so that it doesn’t lose time during the actual winding.

A simple gearing mechanism drives a vertical shaft rod to the clock chamber above where a very simple gearbox drives four horizontal shafts, one to each face.

The bell chamber was actually built to accommodate eight bells but, due to some shift in the tower, an architect inspection recommended that a single bell should be installed. This is not too surprising when you consider that the bell that is there weight over eight and a half hundred weight.

The bell is just under three feet diameter and strikes a note of B sharp. The bell may be struck in three ways; by a hand striker, by the clockm mechanism or by the bell-chord (or by swinging the large wheel to which it is attached.

The bell was cast in 1898 by Charles Carr of Smethwick, one of the premier bell manufacturers.

Passers by have for well over a hundred years, checked their watches against the very familar tower without a thought for the mechanism that makes it possible.

The top of Saint Peter’s tower offers some spectacular views of Burton. Some clearer photos by Ian Gilliver (responsible for among other things, making sure that the tower clock is wound up every week) are also included.

The absence of Drakelow Powerstation makes for a quite different view since its demolition (Ian Gilliver).

Saint Peters Bridge in the foreground, the Ferry Bridge in the mid-background and you may be
able to make out Leicester Line bridge in the background with this view south down the river.

The once majestic Ferry Bridge next to the site of the old Stapenhill Ferry, now looking a little more forlorn.

A zoom in on the Leicester Line bridge; beyond, if you look carefully, you might be
able to pick out the spires of Lichfield Cathedral just right of centre (Ian Gilliver).

A view south over Stapenhill most significantly shows the site once occupied by Stapenhill House.

A great vantage point for watching the goings on, such as this Stapenhill Fete (Ian Gilliver).

Looking north up the river with a few well known landscapes punctuating the landscape.

My personal favourite – once again, north up the river focusing on the Bass Tower and Burton Library; unfortunately, not the clearest of conditions.

South-west, a view over the washlands with the Stapenhill Viaduct forming a large X as it passes under the modern Saint Peters Bridge.

A clearer view looking north (Ian Gilliver).

One final look north to pick out the Trent Bridge.

And finally, a look east over Clay Street and up to the Waterloo Tower.

You may not be familiar with Stapenhill House but you will most likely be familiar with what used to be its private garden. The house, belonging to the Goodger family was gifted to the town in 1933 to become what is now Stapenhill Pleasure Gardens.

The house, shown above, used to occupy that top terrace with the gardens descending down to the river at the rear.

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• Stapenhill House and Gardens – General History