Commemorative plaques on Cobden Bridge, and two other bridges across the River Itchen, have been restored by specialists in the latest in a series of work to preserve the city’s monuments.
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This from Southampton City Council in their own words
Organised by Southampton City Council’s Cultural Services, five plaques have been restored by Farmers Bronze Restoration:
• two at each end and on opposite sides of Cobden Bridge
• two at each end and on opposite sides of the Itchen Toll Bridge
• and one on the west end and north side of Northam Bridge
The bridges over the River Itchen have a rich history. The plaques provide information about each bridge such as when they were opened and by whom. The Cobden Bridge plaque, for example, records that it was opened by Lucia Welch, Southampton’s first female councillor and first woman mayor, who was also a suffragette in her early days.
Over time, the plaques had become worn and corroded, so the restoration has made the plaques more legible and more attractive to passers-by.
Councillor Spiros Vassiliou, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Heritage comments: “Our city bridges are familiar landmarks, connecting together the East and the West of the city. It’s great to see the restored plaques, prominently displayed on the bridges championing our history and heritage for residents and visitors to see, creating pride in our city’s past.”
In advance of the restoration work, the plaques were DOFF cleaned by the Council’s City Services to prepare and preserve the area, further cleaned to remove corrosion and then repatinated to a dark bronze colour.
The work was carried out using part of the annual bridge structures fund.
Several bronze memorials around the city have been restored over the last year. These include six plaques on the Mayflower Memorial on Town Quay, where two more plaques were added as part of Southampton’s Mayflower400 programme.
The following has also been restored:
• Plaque devoted to Mary Ann Rogers on the Stella Memorial, on Western Esplanade
• Royal Hampshire Regiment Memorial on Tebourba Way
• Statue of John Le Fleming, on North Town Wall, overlooking Bargate Street
• American Forces Plaque on outside Civic Centre, faces Watts Park
• Two plaques at Holy Rood Church dedicated to Richard Hopkins Perkins and Richard Taunton
• And the Titanic Engineers Memorial, Above Bar, was touched-up, having been fully restored a few years ago.