THE church in Eastham is staging a summer exhibition about the history of the bridge in the village.

It comes after the opening of the new bridge, replacing the one that collapsed into the River Teme in May 2016.

To mark the opening of the exhibition, there was a service in the church followed by a barbeque.

People will be able to view the exhibition until September.

The original bridge was built in 1793 and stood for 213 years until it collapsed without warning on a quite spring afternoon. Copies of the drawings for the original bridge are still available.

By extraordinary coincidence, the poem ‘Eastham Hill’ in the style of Alexander Pope, describing the aspect across the Teme Valley towards Clee Hill and beyond, was written in 1796, by a local poet, T Davis of Orleton House.

The exhibition in Eastham Church, running from July until September, will display documents and drawings related to the building and construction of the Old Bridge, the newly discovered poem, illustrated with photographs and the story of the construction of the new bridge and the engagement of the local community.

Villagers are relieved that the church is hosting an exhibition not what might well have been a memorial service after a terrible tragedy.

Minibuses carrying children from Lindridge School to Eastham were approaching the old bridge when it collapsed but were able to stop in time and no-one was hurt.

An investigation has found that the bridge failed because of erosion of the foundations. Worcestershire County Council maintained that the bridge was properly inspected and had been examined and declared safe in December 2015 just five months before it collapsed.

At the time of the collapse it has been suggested that it may have been damaged by heavy lorries carrying stone but there was no suggestion of any wrong-doing.

There was no weight restriction on the bridge although it had been built at a time when it was expected to carry nothing heavier that a farm cart.

Villagers had been led to expect that a temporary bridge would be put in place quickly but this was ruled out.

It was decided in August 2016 to build a new bridge on the same line and to a similar specification to the original as this would remove the need for a special environmental survey.

Work on the construction of the new bridge began last October and it was opened in May.

This brought to an end nearly a year of misery for people in the village who had had to put up with a long and extensive diversion through Tenbury using narrow country lanes.

Residents were also concerned about the extended travel time for ambulances and fire engines called to the village.

Children at Lindridge School planted bulbs last year that came to bloom around the time of the reopening of the village. They are now able to use the bridge to travel to and from school.