Local newspapers of the 19th Century look very different from those we are familiar with today in terms of their format and layout. The layout is much more dense with the printers using every bit of space, important when there was a tax levied on every sheet printed.
As a result, scanning a page for headlines (such as they are) often leads to missing small gems such as the following item in the Western Daily Press for Thursday March 24 1864…
This is the sum total of the report.
Given that the official opening of the bridge wasn’t until 8th December 1864 this was possibly newsworthy, though some information about who the lady was and why she crossed the bridge (to get to the other side…?) might have held the readers attention more.
What is more puzzling is how she crossed…
The chains linking the piers were not completed until May 1864 and the roadway wasn’t completed until September 1864 when the first VIPs crossed. There was a basket used to cross the gap. But this was removed in 1853.
Apparently there was a ‘temporary bridge for hanging the sets of chains for the other side of the bridge’ which was constructed around this time across the Avon Gorge. This was intended for the workmen, however so it still leaves many questions unanswered.
References
- Western Daily Press, Thursday March 24 1864
- Bristol Times and Mirror, Saturday 19 March 1864
(Both of the above via the British Newspaper Archive)
Many thanks to Maggie Aherne and Verity Jones at the Archive team at the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust for the additional information.