[1] The business was founded by iron merchant Thomas Thornewill and his son Francis in 1740; located in Burton's New Street, it made spades and other edged tools.

[5] The construction in 1889 of the Ferry Bridge and the connecting viaduct to Bond End, at a total cost of just over £10,000, was one of the firm's major achievements in that field.

[4] The bridge was designed by Edward William Ives,[6] supported by Alfred Andrew Langley, chief engineer of the Midland Railway.

The pier cylinders were filled with solid concrete and on top of this there was 3 feet (91 cm) of non-porous engineering blue bricks cemented together.

The towers were surmounted with lions rampant each of which carried a wrought iron staff with gilded copper vanes and Lord Burton's monogram.

The chains are made of flat bars 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick, riveted to the main girders in the middle of the centre span and at the ends of the bridge.

[8] The lattice girders which tie the towers together are cased with more ornamental iron work bearing the date of the erection of the bridge, 1889 and underneath the ironwork appears the inscription ‘The gift of Michael Arthur First Baron Burton’.

The footway was originally of red deal (Pinus sylvestris/European Redwood), 3 inches (7.6 cm) higher in the middle than at the sides to ensure water runoff.

At both ends of the bridge span the stone substructure on which the superstructure rests was built by Messrs Lowe and Sons, and the carving of the patterns was executed by Mr Hilton of Victoria Street, Burton.

[2] Following the official opening, Bass announced plans to erect a raised causeway across the meadows join the Ferry Bridge to Burton.

They concluded that the ornamental features and ironwork (described by the borough surveyor of the time as dead weight) were too heavy, were causing excessive stress to the structure, and should be removed.

When this was removed there was public disappointment that the bridge had lost all its embellishments, and that the previous colour scheme of gardenia and plum had been replaced by black and white.

Two of the original cast-iron lions and one of the plaques which had stood on the piers to the bridge are now (2016) on display at the National Brewery Centre in Burton.

[citation needed] In the mid- to late-2000s Burton Civic Society became aware that the bridge structure was deteriorating dramatically and brought this to the attention of both the local East Staffordshire Borough Council (ESBC) and to Staffordshire County Council (SCC), as responsibility for the bridge had passed from ESBC to SCC.

The majority of the refurbishment suggestions made by SCC were immediately accepted by the Group and a planning application for the required works was granted by ESBC.

The local population were advised from June 2015 of the closure of the footbridge which, 126 years since its opening, continued to be the major link between Stapenhill and the town centre.

Work on the refurbishment started on 7 September 2015 and was due to be completed in about a year, at a cost of around £1 million, and project managed by Amey.

Burton Civic Society wanted these to be replaced during the 2015–2016 refurbishment, but after extensive searches the plaques were not found to be in the Council's possession.

Local businessman and Civic Society member George Lawson, who had a keen interest in the bridge as past chairman of Burton Leander Rowing Club and Burton Regatta, approached local aluminium casting company Alpac Alloys who were able to confirm that a new mould could be made from the original.

The Friends of Ferry Bridge community action group played a major role in pushing forward the restoration project.

[citation needed] Within a few days of the re-opening, a love lock was affixed to the bridge, but it was quickly removed, as such items are unsightly, a hazard, add to the load on the structure, and are not allowed under the Listing Regulations.