Architect and bridge-builder William Hayward designed the first crossing over the Severn at Coalport, based on two timber framed arches built on stone abutments and a pier. It was originally built by Robert Palmer, a local timber yard owner based in Madeley Wood, and opened in 1780. The bridge, known as Wood Bridge, connected the parish of Broseley on the south bank of the river with the Sheep Wash in the parish of Madeley and Sutton Maddock on the north bank. Its opening was somewhat played down as the impending showcase "Iron Bridge" further upstream was already being prepared as an icon by Abraham Derby III; the wooden bridge was short-lived and lasted less than 5 years until 1795, when severe winter flooding virtually washed away the mid-stream supporting pier.
After the destruction of 1795, the bridge remained closed until the Trustees of what was to become known as Coalport Bridge had it rebuilt in 1799 as a hybrid of wood, brick and cast-iron parts, cast by John Onions. The two original spans were removed and replaced by a single span of three cast iron ribs, which sprang from the original outer sandstone pier bases. The bridge deck was further supported by two square brick piers, the northern one constructed directly on top of the stone pier base and the southern one set back slightly towards the river bank. The remainder of the superstructure was built of wood and may have reused some of the original beams. However, by 1817 this bridge was failing again, attributed to the insufficient number of cast iron ribs proving inadequate for the volume of traffic. Consequently, the bridge proprietors decided to rebuild Coalport Bridge once again, this time completely in iron. The quality of the castings is good, especially by comparison with the castings of the Iron bridge upstream. The bridge was recently renovated and the static load lowered by replacing cast iron plates used for the roadway with composite carbon fibre/fiberglass plates, with substantial weight saving.
Later history
The date of 1818 displayed on its midspan panel refers to this substantial work which allowed the bridge, subscribed to by Charles Guest, one of the principal trustees, to stand without major repairs for the next 187 years. John Onions and Guest's brother John were buried at Birch Meadow Baptist Chapel, Broseley, a chapel for which Guest had earlier paid half of the building costs. Some further strengthening work was carried out on the bridge in 2004-05 when it was closed for about a year to reconstruct the two brick arches supporting the verges at the south side of the bridge. It still takes vehicular traffic, unlike the more famous Iron Bridge, albeit limited to a single line of traffic, a 3-tonne weight limit and a height restriction of 6 ft 6in. It is also directly next to the former Coalport East railway station on the Telford side of the bridge and is also a few metres down from the former Coalport West railway station, which could become a possible extension of the heritage line linking Coalport back onto a railway connection.
