Built in 1847 as a footbridge over part of the east lake at Birkenhead Park, which was designed as an idealised version of the English country, as many local residents had left the countryside in order to find work in Birkenhead, Liverpool and the Wirral. Upon opening it was the first public park in the world, and became a major influence on the layout of other parks in Britain as well as being the design basis for Central Park in New York. The second photograph shows the bridge in its derelict state in 2005 before achieving its most recent restoration.