A railway swing bridge that was built by engineer Robert Stephenson in 1850 could be restored to its former glory.

The bridge, just north of Oxford Railway Station near Rewley Road, has fallen into disrepair after closing in 1985.

But now it has won a £90,000 heritage grant for renovation work and to improve public access.

The grant, from not-for-profit company Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (Wren), will fund repairs to restore the fabric of the bridge to its 1941 condition. The area around it will be landscaped.

Oxford Preservation Trust project officer Jacquie Martinez said: “The swing bridge is the last relic to Oxford’s London and North Western Railway line and we want to remind people the city once had a second railway line running through it.

“In order to ensure that the works provide long-term protection for the bridge fabric, skilled contractors will be required for tasks such as stripping and painting the bridge surfaces.

“As part of the restoration, we will also see if we can get the bridge to swing again.”

In 2003, the trust carried out a feasibility study to see if it could raise enough money to pay for a £200,000 restoration project but not enough supporters coming forward.

Ms Martinez said: “We now have a number of backers and have raised about £400,000.

“Our plan is for work to start early next year and be completed by the summer of 2013.”

Other backers include Network Rail, Chiltern Railways and the National Railway Heritage Trust.

The bridge is the last significant hand-operated mainline rail swing bridge in Britain.

Designed to swing open to allow boats passage through the Sheepwash Channel, it operated until 1985, when tracks north of the bridge were removed.It is not open to the public.

The Wren grant is part of a Heritage Fund launched last year, which helps to protect Grade I and Grade II-listed buildings and historical structures across the UK.

The bridge project is one of 12 schemes awarded a grant from Wren’s Heritage Fund.