Difference between revisions of "Crossings of the River Thames"

Latest revision as of 20:41, 2 October 2019

London Bridge, in central London

Newbridge, joining Oxfordshire and Berkshire

The crossings of the River Thames are numerous: over 200 bridges, 24 tunnels, six public ferries, one cable car link, and at least one ford. The River Thames has so many bridges thrown across it because of its position in the busiest part of the land, and the river has caused many of the great towns of the southern counties to grow, which in turn required a taming of the flood.

The river flows for 215 miles from its source to Southend Pier. In its upper reaches it is a modest river but it becomes navigable remarkably soon, at Cricklade, and the river below here is broad and a formidable barrier: all bridges must be such as will not hinder navigation, but the needs of navigation mean that until the river becomes tidal at Teddington, there are locks on its course, several of which provide a way to cross from one bank to another.

History of crossings

London Bridge in 1616, by Claes Van Visscher

Many of the present road bridges over the river are on the sites of earlier fords, ferries and wooden structures. The Romans under Julius Caesar forded the river probably at Brentford, which would be a hazardous undertaking today; it is on a reach frequented by cargo ships. The earliest known bridges on the Thames were built by the Romans, at London Bridge and Staines Bridge. At Folly Bridge in Oxford the remains of an original Saxon structure can be seen, and mediæval stone structures such as Newbridge and Abingdon Bridge are still in use.

The growth of Kingston upon Thames in Surrey is believed to stem from its having the only crossing between London Bridge and Staines until the beginning of the 18th century.

Proposals to build bridges across the Thames at Lambeth and Putney in around 1670 were defeated by the Rulers of the Company of Watermen, since it would mean ruin for the 60,000 rivermen who provided a pool of naval reserve.^[1] During the 18th century, many stone and brick road bridges were built from new or to replace existing structures, both in London and further up the river. These included Westminster Bridge, Putney Bridge, Datchet Bridge, Windsor Bridge and Sonning Bridge. Several central London road bridges were built in the 19th century, most conspicuously Tower Bridge, the only bascule bridge on the river, designed to allow ocean-going ships to pass beneath it.

The most recent road bridges are the bypasses at Isis Bridge and Marlow By-pass Bridge and the motorway bridges, most notably the two on the M25: Queen Elizabeth Bridge and M25 Runnymede Bridge.

The development of the railway resulted in a spate of bridge building in the 19th century including Blackfriars Railway Bridge and Charing Cross (Hungerford) Railway Bridge in London, and the spectacular railway bridges by Isambard Kingdom Brunel at Maidenhead, Gatehampton and Moulsford.

The world's first underwater tunnel was the Thames Tunnel by Marc Brunel built in 1843 and now used to carry the East London Line. The Tower Subway was the first railway under the Thames, which was followed by all the deep-level tube lines. Two road tunnels were built in East London at the end of the 19th century, the Blackwall Tunnel and the Rotherhithe Tunnel, and the latest tunnel is the Dartford Crossing.

Many foot crossings were established across the weirs that were built on the non-tidal river, and some of these remained when the locks were built – for example at Benson Lock. Others were replaced by a footbridge when the weir was removed as at Hart's Weir Footbridge. Around the year 2000, several footbridges were added, either as part of the Thames Path or in commemoration of the Millennium. These include Temple Footbridge, Bloomers Hole Footbridge, the Hungerford Footbridges and the Millennium Bridge (City of London to Southwark), all of which have distinctive designs.

Some ferries still operate on the river. The Woolwich Ferry carries cars and passengers across the river in the Thames Gateway and links the North Circular and South Circular roads. Upstream are smaller pedestrian ferries, for example Hampton Ferry and Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry; the latter is the only non-permanent crossing that remains on the Thames Path.

Listing bridges and crossings

The list below starts at the source and runs downstream, to the Thames Estuary. A few of the crossings listed are public pedestrian crossings using walkways across lock gates and bridges above or adjacent to the adjoining weirs.

Most of the other locks on the River Thames also have walkways across their lock gates and weirs, or one may walk with care across the top of the lock gates. However at many of the locks either the lock does not completely cross the river, or access is restricted to authorised personnel only, and are therefore such locks should not be listed.

Apart from bridges, tunnels and locks, the Thames has several ferries. Commuter boat services operate along some reaches of the river in London, and tourist boat services sail the river both in London and upstream, which services may bring the traveller to light at the other bank to continue his journey on foot.

Source to Cricklade

Not all of the bridges beyond Cricklade are listed below. For example, there are a number of small agricultural bridges allowing access between fields, and bridges to properties in Ashton Keynes that are not mentioned.

The river splits as it passes through Ashton Keynes. An alternative route to that listed above crosses High Bridge at 51°38’13"N, 1°55’46"W and Three Bridges at 51°38’18"N, 1°56’21"W

Cricklade to Oxford

Radcot Bridge

St John's Bridge, Lechlade

Oxford to Reading

Folly Bridge, Oxford

Shillingford Bridge

Wallingford Bridge

Reading to the Colne

Maidenhead Railway Bridge

Reading Bridge

Proposed

• A pedestrian and cycle bridge is proposed between Reading and Caversham Bridges, to be located east of Fry's Island.^[3]

Surrey / Middlesex to Teddington Lock

Chertsey Bridge

Former

• The Datchet Bridge, built in 1707, was demolished in 1848.

Under construction

• A new bridge is being constructed to replace the Walton Bridges.^[4]

The Tidal Thames to London

Richmond Bridge

Chiswick Bridge

Albert Bridge

Chelsea Bridge

London and Westminster

Tower Bridge

Westminster Bridge

Lambeth Bridge

Former

• At least two Emergency Thames Bridges were erected as a precaution against enemy action during Second World War, both built in 1942 and demolished in 1948:

1. From Victoria Embankment to County Hall
2. Millbank

Docklands and Essex / Kent

Thames Tunnel in the mid-19th century

Emirate Air Line cable car link

Thames Barrier

Proposed or under construction

• A new rail tunnel is being constructed between Plumstead and North Woolwich as part of the Crossrail scheme.^[6]
• The Silvertown Link is a proposed bridge or tunnel to relieve the Blackwall Tunnels between the Greenwich Peninsula and West Silvertown.
• The Gallions Reach Ferry is a proposed ferry service to replace the Woolwich Ferry, between Beckton and Thamesmead.

Thames Estuary

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge

Proposed

A Lower Thames Crossing is proposed, at or east of the Dartford Crossing. Three options were announced in April 2009.

See also

• Islands in the River Thames
• Thames Path

References

• Tucker, Joan (2012). Ferries of the Upper Thames. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781848689671