In 1860, a 24 year old named Henry Simon emigrated from
Germany to Manchester, to join the city’s German community. Simon became an
engineer with a knack for inventing, and his ideas included steel rollers and
sieving machines for the milling industry. His company later became the Simon Carves
engineering company, which is still located in South Manchester.
Simon died in 1899
and left money for this bridge to be built over the Mersey in Didsbury, to improve
access to Poor’s Field, which was owned by the church and rented out to provide
funds to buy items for the poor, such as blankets and clothing. It’s rather a
fine looking bridge, painted vibrant green, and it’s shame that present locals
saw fit to scrawl all over it. If you’d like to visit and pay your respects to
the entrepreneurial Mr Simon, the bridge is near Ford Lane. It’s an interesting
area for history so to find out more visit the Mersey Valley website here.
