A petition was launched in 2016 calling for the four lions to be rehomed – and it’s still attracting signatures
On November 12, 2016, a petition was launched that seemed to lose momentum after an initial burst of publicity. However, interest never completely waned and eight years on, it continues to attract signatures.
In September alone, six more individuals added their names to an issue that still sparks strong emotions in North Wales. Over 740 people have now supported calls for the relocation of four magnificent stone lions currently hidden away.
These lions are among the most iconic Victorian legacies in North Wales, marking the construction of a wrought iron railway bridge across the Menai Strait with spans 50 times larger than any previous attempts. The railway line was flanked by two pairs of 12ft-tall lions on both approaches, as if they were guarding the Britannia Bridge.
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Despite their imposing presence, they didn’t deter the boys who accidentally set fire to the structure on May 23, 1970. The bridge was severely damaged but was repaired with an additional upper deck that now supports the A55.
This work resulted in key features, including the lions, becoming partially obscured. For the past 50 years, they have remained hidden from view to all but train passengers travelling on the bridge’s lower deck, reports North Wales Live.
As some of the UK’s largest lion statues, their unfortunate fate has been a point of contention long before the 2016 petition. Each statue weighs around 30 tonnes, significantly larger than the four seven-tonne bronze lions cast for Trafalgar Square.
They also predate London’s Landseer lions by 19 years, having been sculpted in 1848 by John Thomas, who also carved all the kings and queens on the Houses of Parliament. In terms of size and length, a bronze lion sculpture at Longleat Safari Park is slightly larger, unveiled in 2016 to mark the attraction’s 50th anniversary.
However, weighing in at a mere three tonnes, it’s only a tenth of the weight of each of the four Britannia Bridge lions. As the bridge would have turned 150 years old in 2000, Anglesey Council sought a Millennium Fund grant in the late 1990s to move the lions to a more prominent position.
Dewi R Williams, the council’s then head of highways, waste and property, supported the project but faced opposition from Railtrack, now known as Network Rail. They proved harder to move than the lions themselves.
Engineers were sceptical about the bridge’s capacity to support the cranes necessary for lifting the majestic lions, and it was also deemed unfeasible to dismantle the sculptures’ 11 limestone segments and reassemble them atop higher plinths. The lions, having been completed on-site, would present a challenge akin to solving a three-dimensional puzzle.
“As far as I know, nobody knows how they fit together,” Mr Williams remarked in 2016. Ultimately, financial considerations tipped the scales; Network Rail could not justify the expense amidst pressing needs for existing network enhancements.
Nevertheless, following objections from rail enthusiasts, the lions have undergone periodic cleaning to remove graffiti. Up close, the 25-foot lions command respect, and their significance as cultural icons linking Anglesey and Gwynedd, as well as their appeal to visitors, is undeniable.
However, this very prominence is also their downfall – relocating them could pose a dangerous distraction to A55 motorists, potentially leading to tragic accidents. Moreover, the notion of lions dominating this region of Wales is not universally welcomed.
While four lions graced Owain Glyndwr’s standard, and three appeared on Llewelyn ap Gruffudd’s flag, the last native Prince of Wales, such imagery is now too entwined with English heraldry for some.
“Nothing Welsh about these lions,” one local remarked about the Britannia Bridge sculptures, expressing a preference for something more emblematic of Wales. “I would rather have four dragons.”
For those keen to glimpse the historic lions, they are still visible to visitors: on Anglesey, it’s a brief ten-minute jaunt along a pathway from either St Mary’s Church or the Carreg Bran Hotel car park. To encounter them from the Gwynedd side, trekkers should plan a slightly longer expedition starting at Treborth Gardens and following the coastal path.
Further down the path past the bridge, continue just a bit uphill looking out for an opening in the greenery that reveals the closest lion. Due to safety considerations, fencing has been installed along the railway, and the trackside vegetation has thickened over recent years.