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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Clifton Suspension Bridge
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(western outskirts of Bristol) Marvel of Victorian engineering which at the time was the longest and highest span attempted (214m/702ft wide and 75m/245ft above high tide), even though the original design by Isambard Kingdom *Brunel had been reduced by the cautious judges of the competition. The work began in 1836 when a continuous wrought-iron bar, 305m/1000ft long and 3.8cm/1.5in thick, was slung across so that a trolley carrying men and materials could be suspended from it. Brunel died before the bridge was completed in 1864, and his Egyptian designs for the supporting piers were never built. But this single span over the craggy Avon gorge continues to amaze and delight.
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