Bakewell love locks: Just days left to rescue them before bridge repair work begins
People have just three days left if they want to reclaim any love locks they have placed on a bridge in a Derbyshire town in the past 12 years. Workmen are due to move on to the site in Bakewell on Monday (September 16) to remove those not claimed but instead of being destined for recycling as was originally planned, they will now be saved to be rehung in an alternative space in the future.
Save the Love Locks campaigner Richard Young is hoping the drive to save them - ever since Derbyshire County Council warned that they would have to be removed three years ago because they were threatening the integrity of the Weir Bridge - will see people donating to match-fund the £3,000 that the owners of Thornbridge Hall have donated as part of their agreement to house them in the grounds.
It is estimated that there could have been up to 40,000 locks on the bridge, placed there by people to mark special occasions or to commemorate loved ones who have died. But since July, when the county council announced that work would start this month, there have been a large number of people heading to the Peak District town to rescue their locks and quite a large number have been removed.
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But amazingly, some people have also added locks in the past few days, knowing they will be removed but hoping to be reunited with them when they are reattached to anew structure at Thornbridge Hall. One couple on Facebook said: "We visited this week with our youngest two to add a lock to our original, we got married in 2021 and I bought my hubby a padlock as a wedding gift, I have been unwell since and we have never had the chance to come and place it on our original lock.
"This week after hearing the locks had been saved we came and added our padlock to the original and tied a big yellow ribbon around them in hopes it will mean we can find them again when they reach their new home. Thank you for all your hard work in saving the locks, they mean so much to so many of us."
Mr Young said on his Facebook campaign page: "Surely, we can match this by donating £10 or more or whatever you can afford. Come on guys lets make this happen.
"Thornbridge Hall is an ideal solution and it is where people can still visit their love locks and also allow the tradition to continue with space being created for new love locks to be attached. But we need your help to create a suitable lasting home. as each one has a special memory and there are 40,000 memories to save.
"We have set up this Just Giving page to provide funds to build a structure similar to that of the wires on the bridge to not only display the love locks in their new home but increase the capacity so that the memories can be continued."
Mr Young said the aim is to build a suitable structure and create an area that displays the locks in their full glory for all to enjoy. This will be in an accessible area in the grounds of Thornbridge Hall. He said: "We would love to raise enough funding for seating and information boards and some forms of digital record of the love locks.
"This all takes time and money and has to be made strong and safe so we need your help. Every pound raised will help preserve the 1000’s of memories and allow new lasting memories hopefully for generations to come.
"Every donation would be amazing and create a wonderful peaceful place for the love locks. So literally every penny raised will be thankfully received and used to help this tradition continue. We have come a long way to achieve this and it has taken a long time to get to where we are, please help us get the job finished so that the memories are preserved and not lost."
At the time of publishing, fundraising had reached £1,470 - just under 50% of what Mr Young is traying to raise.
The council had been urging people to remove their padlocks if they wished to keep them before work begins on September 16 but it has since agreed to hand them over to the Save the Locks at Bakewell campaign group which aims to display them at the hall, which is near the village of Great Longstone, and the Monsal Trail.
Work on the existing bridge will include treating rust, repainting, securing an anti-slip glass fibre walkway, and attaching new tubular railings to replace wires that had been used to attach the love locks and a temporary diversion will be put in place.