Title: The History of Bridges: Before and after the Menai Suspension Bridge
Speaker: Sue Threader

Bridges are everywhere — and yet we rarely stop to think about them. Every bridge is a bold answer to a simple question: how do we get from here to there? This talk traces that question from its earliest solutions through centuries of innovation, fashion and ingenuity. It will explore how early societies crossed rivers, how Roman engineers pushed construction to astonishing new heights, and how medieval masons turned bridges into symbols of faith, power, and permanence. The story accelerates in the 18th and 19th centuries, an era when engineering began to redefine what was possible. At its heart stands a revolutionary structure: the Menai Suspension Bridge. Completed in 1826, it didn’t just span water — it changed the future of bridge building forever. As we approach its bicentenary in 2026, it offers a perfect moment to reflect on a true turning point in engineering history. We’ll finish by looking at what came next: the rapid advances of the industrial age, the bridges that shape our modern world, and the challenges facing the bridge builders of the future.

Sue Threader is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers with senior-level experience in the public, private and charity sector.  She is the Chief Executive of the medieval charity that owns Rochester Bridge, the only bridge in the world which is managed with Net Zero Carbon emissions.  Under Sue’s leadership, the Trust has become one of the leading organisations in civil engineering education for children and young people. Specialising in pre-20^th century bridges, Sue speaks regularly on a wide range of historic bridge engineering topics and engineers and has appeared on Channel 5 with Rob Bell sharing her expertise.  She is particularly interested in the development of bridge design and management and the social and historic impact of these vital pieces of infrastructure.  She has written on aspects of the works of the great engineers Thomas Telford, John Rennie and Sir William Cubitt.
Sue is a Board Trustee for the City Bridge Foundation, another medieval charity which looks after the five bridges across the Thames in the City of London, including Tower Bridge, and is also one of the two elected Bridgemasters of the City of London, being the first woman ever to be elected to the 850 year old ceremonial role.  She is a Court Assistant of the Worshipful Company of Engineers, Chair of the Institution of the Civil Engineers Archives Panel and Chair of the national Bridge Owners Forum. She holds an Honorary Doctorate and an ICE award for outstanding career contribution to civil engineering.