Then & Now

1950-2021 Fron Lift Bridge, Froncysyllte Llangollen. This one hurt my head as I couldn't for the life of me work out the perspective of the original image, as the counter-weight lift seemed an entirely different shape, until I realised it had been rebuilt in steel around 1990, having previously been timber since the early 1800's, when it was the terminus of the Lllangollen Branch of the Shropshire Canal whilst the ten year construction of the adjacent Pontcysyllte aqueduct took place. The lift allowed small traffic access to dwellings and industrial facilities on the opposite bank. It still provides the same function to this day, some 200 years later - one person must jump off the boat in order to wind the mechanism up and down letting another steer the boat through the open gate before chasing it down and jumping back onboard to continue the journey either to or from Llangollen.