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London Bridge is still here!
00:00 21 Dec 1995
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Most people believe that the original London Bridge is now standing
on Lake Havasu in Arizona. Not so - large chunks of the old bridge
are stored at Merrivale Quarry in Devon.
It appears that when the 140-year-old bridge was transported to the US in 1971 not all of it quite managed to get across the Atlantic.
The bridge's US buyers decided it would be too expensive to transport the whole bridge to the States. So after the bridge was dismantled it was transported to Merrivale Quarry where 150mm to 200mm were sliced off over a thousand pieces for use as cladding for a concrete bridge.
In the intervening 24 years, the quarry changed hands when it was bought by Albrighton, and the secret forgotten. However, one old quarry lag, Gerald Metters, returned to work at the quarry. He mentioned to technical manager John Wright that he and fellow quarryman Bill Fielder, who still works at Merrivale, had helped chisel layers off the stone that was sent to Arizona.
A search began for the missing stone which was eventually found stacked into the side of the quarry. Albrighton's chief executive Peter Woodman said: 'I just could not believe that there was so much of it.' The company is now trying to figure out what to do with the stone, but are hoping to find some deserving cause to donate it to.
It appears that when the 140-year-old bridge was transported to the US in 1971 not all of it quite managed to get across the Atlantic.
The bridge's US buyers decided it would be too expensive to transport the whole bridge to the States. So after the bridge was dismantled it was transported to Merrivale Quarry where 150mm to 200mm were sliced off over a thousand pieces for use as cladding for a concrete bridge.
In the intervening 24 years, the quarry changed hands when it was bought by Albrighton, and the secret forgotten. However, one old quarry lag, Gerald Metters, returned to work at the quarry. He mentioned to technical manager John Wright that he and fellow quarryman Bill Fielder, who still works at Merrivale, had helped chisel layers off the stone that was sent to Arizona.
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A search began for the missing stone which was eventually found stacked into the side of the quarry. Albrighton's chief executive Peter Woodman said: 'I just could not believe that there was so much of it.' The company is now trying to figure out what to do with the stone, but are hoping to find some deserving cause to donate it to.
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