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    Wednesday, February 11
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    Repair Shop restores 95-year-old design for Humber Bridge

    saiphnewsBy No Comments2 Mins Read


    Holly PhillipsEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

    Ricochet Ltd Angelina Bakalarou stood over a white table working on repairing a large drawing of the Humber Bridge. She has long black hair and is wearing a striped long-sleeved top and blue jeans. She is in a wooden shed surrounding by materials for restoring paper. Ricochet Ltd

    Angelina Bakalarou said she was “amazed” by the level of detail in the drawing

    A 95-year-old design for the Humber Bridge has been restored.

    Created in 1930, the original blueprint was later sent to Bernard Wex, the engineer responsible for the eventual design of the suspension bridge, which opened in 1981.

    Angelina Bakalarou, from the BBC show The Repair Shop, fixed the piece of British engineering history after decades of damage, including insect droppings, tears and tape stains.

    Mr Wex’s granddaughter, Tillie Newnham, from Rugby, said: “It’s something we will always cherish as a family and want others to know as well because we’re so proud of what he achieved.”

    The 1.4 mile-long (2.2km) suspension bridge near Hessle took 10 years to build and was opened on 24 June 1981 by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

    Ricochet Ltd Tillie Newnham stands in a large shed smiling for the camera. Tools hang from the walls. She has shoulder-length blonde, wavy hair and is wearing a white netted vest with black lines on it, and cream-coloured trousers. In front of her on a wooden table is a large drawing of the Humber Bridge.Ricochet Ltd

    Tillie Newnham calls the Humber Bridge “grandad’s bridge”

    The original drawing was by Sir Ralph Freeman, a civil engineer who was commissioned to come up with a design for vehicles to cross the Humber Estuary.

    But the people of East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire would have to wait more than 50 years for a crossing to be completed.

    While Sir Ralph’s design was never realised, it was passed on to Mr Wex in the 1960s and he used it as inspiration for the bridge that can be seen today.

    Mr Wex, who died in 1990, was appointed OBE for his contribution.

    Ms Newnham said: “Our family generally view the bridge as that legacy that stands of his that keeps us connected to him. We call it grandad’s bridge.

    “It’s really nice to have another connection to my grandfather. It can continue to be appreciated by our family and stay part of that pride we have in the bridge.”

    Ricochet Ltd The repaired monochrome drawing of the Humber Bridge. It shows a suspension bridge with steel girders and seven towers spanning a large river estuary with ships passing beneath it.Ricochet Ltd

    Ms Newnham said the restored drawing looked “amazing”

    Ms Bakalarou, a paper conservator, had to deal with discolouration as well as missing sections caused by silverfish and small black dots from bug faeces.

    She washed the drawing and joined up lines in pencil.

    “Now the drawing has been conserved and treated, the family will be able to appreciate it without having to take a trip up to Hull to see the real thing,” she said.

    “To build a bridge, it blows my mind and it’s still standing.”

    Series 15, episode 1 of The Repair Shop can be watched on iPlayer.

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