Protected status proposed for Ramsey Victorian steel swing bridge

The 131-year-old bridge links West Quay and Mooragh Promenade in Ramsey

A proposal to protect a Victorian bridge from any future alteration or demolition has been revealed.

The Ramsey Swing Bridge is being surveyed for inclusion in the Isle of Man's Protected Building Register.

Listing restricts the demolition, or alteration or extension without the written consent of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.

Completed in 1892, the bridge offers passage over the inner harbour between West Quay and the Mooragh area.

Running parallel to the stone bridge on Bowring Road, which crosses further up the Sulby River, the bridge's mechanism also enables continued maritime access to Ramsey Shipyard and the inner harbour.

Construction of the steel structure was completed in 1892

Commissioned by the town's local authority, it was constructed by the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company of Darlington.

The bridge is comprised of two steel trussed arches spanning 210ft (64m), which support a roadway that allows pedestrian and height-restricted vehicular access across the harbour.

While the structure underwent some repairs in the 1870s and 1978s, its last extensive refurbishment took place in 2013, including the replacement and realignment of the slewing mechanism and bearings.

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture has published Notice of Proposal to Register a Building for the structure.

Anyone who wants to make a submission to the Planning and Building Control Directorate about the proposal to place the bridge on the register has until 22 January to do so.

Other buildings which have recently been proposed for entry on the register include Leyton, on Victoria Road in Douglas, Laxey Flour Mills, on Mill Road in Laxey, and Orrisdale Chapel, in Orrisdale in Michael Parish.

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