Bridging the gap through centuries; Youngsters turn clock back at Cragside.

Byline: Peter Taylor and Tony Henderson

MORE than 20 lucky children enjoyed a very Victorian day out when they helped unveil an iconic bridge.

Youngsters from Harbottle First School donned clothes from a bygone era for a trip to the National Trust's Cragside House, near Rothbury, Northumberland, to be the first to step on to the towering Iron Bridge.

The bridge was built in the early 1870s by the mighty industrialist Lord Armstrong when Cragside was his home.

Almost 30 years ago it had to be closed for safety reasons but after a pounds 600,000 restoration project it is gleaming again and affording a view second to none.

Its purpose when designed by Lord Armstrong was to span the yawning Debdon Valley and link the house with the garden and parkland below for his family to enjoy. Now it will play host to thousands of visitors following its opening to the public today.

Television presenter and writer John Grundy dressed up as the great man himself to welcome the children to the bridge.

He said: "It has been felt that it wasn't terribly safe since the trust took it over in the late 1970s. So the restoration has opened it for the first time in around 30 years."

Denis Wright, project manager, said: "It is a very elegant structure like a piece of sculpture in its own right. To try and stay true to the original design we had a lot of hot riveting done which is a hard skill to find nowadays." In all more than 4,000 individual rivets were used to strengthen the bridge, each one heated individually with an induction coil heater.

Riveting guns had to be brought in from America to carry out the work.

It took nine months of conservation work to restore the Grade ll-listed bridge to its former glory.

It was built at Lord Armstrong's Elswick works on Tyneside before being transported in sections and built at Cragside.

RIVETING INSIGHT

THE restoration of the elegant 1860s bridge has produced a riveting insight into its history.

While stripping layers of paint from the bridge it was found from maker's marks that sections had been bought in from Teesside's infant iron industry.

It had been thought that the bridge was manufactured entirely at Armstrong's Elswick works in Newcastle .

National Trust archaeologist Harry Beamish said: "It was almost certainly designed on Tyneside but they are bringing in components from elsewhere. This shows that the bridge's history is more complicated than we thought."

Armstrong installed the Grade II-star listed bridge to span the deep Debdon Valley to give access from the Cragside House to his formal garden. Now the bridge will once again offer views of the house and its rock garden.

Cragside is the National Trust's most visited property in the North East.

CAPTION(S):

DON'T LOOK DOWN Harbottle First school pupils on the bridge.; GOING BACK IN TIME Nathaniel Boydon, Masie Latcham, Anna Hindhaugh and Oliver Latcham cross the re-opened iron bridge at Cragside. Picture: Dave Charlton www.journallive.co.uk/buyaphoto ref: 01222713