15 years ago, the LIA began a campaign to have the famous Iron Bridge professionally illuminated and finally on September 19th this year, the lights were turned on.
For years the bridge was occasionally washed with a dim yellow sodium light and when floods damaged the fixtures, they often weren’t replaced so at night, the bridge was all but invisible.
The original campaign began with Keven Verdun MBE, the then CEO of the Lighting Association and was then taken up in 2008 by Peter Hunt. Despite many meetings with the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust and English Heritage, the project was thwarted at every turn.
Finally, in 2017, Telford & Wrekin Council decided to re-light the Bridge as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Telford New Town. In March of 2018, LPA Lighting was appointed to design the new scheme. Liz Peck and Bob Bohannon – both LIA trainers – persisted to deliver the scheme, despite many obstacles along the way.
The final lighting scheme delivers a simple white-light scheme to highlight the detail of the bridge during the week, whilst a special effect on weekends evokes a historical reference to the furnaces which are at the heart of the area’s industrial history.
The LIA are delighted that the bridge has finally been re-lit and are especially proud that two of our expert trainers have achieved a major improvement to the famous world heritage site.
