ENGLAND

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Although based in northeast Scotland, Harpers quickly spread their expertise in England, building at Shocklach, Cheshire over the River Dee, in 1871.  Three bridges were built for the Great North Railway in the 1870s – at Offord and Holme, Cambridgeshire and Lincoln.  

Public bridges followed: at Keswick, Cumbria over the River Greta; at Trentham, Staffordshire over the River Trent; at Doveridge, Derbyshire over the River Dove; and at Sellack Boat, Herefordshire over the River Wye.

Private bridges included those at Crathorne Hall, Yorkshire over the River Lee and the iconic one at Towan Island, Newquay, Cornwall. One bridge we know of (or its site) has not been found (see Missing Bridges).

All these would have been transported by rail, the later ones directly from the line into the foundry at Harpers Limited, Craiginches, Aberdeen.