Marlow Bridge

Marlow Bridge

Marlow Bridge, from All Saints' parish churchyard
Crosses River Thames
Locale Marlow
Heritage status Grade I listed structure
Characteristics
Design Suspension
Height 12 feet 8 inches (3.86 m)[1]
Longest span 235 feet (72 m)[2]
History
Designer William Tierney Clark
Opened 1832

Marlow Bridge is a road traffic and foot bridge over the River Thames in England between the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire and the village of Bisham in Berkshire. It crosses the Thames just upstream of Marlow Lock, on the reach to Temple Lock.

There has been a bridge on the site since the reign of King Edward III which was stated in around 1530 to have been of timber, though an original crossing to the Knights Templar of Bisham may date from 1309.[3] In 1642 this bridge was partly destroyed by a Parliamentarian army. In 1789 a new timber bridge was built by public subscription with a contribution from the Thames Navigation Commission to increase the headroom underneath.[3]

The current suspension bridge was designed by William Tierney Clark and was built between 1829 and 1832, replacing a wooden bridge further downstream which collapsed in 1828.[2] It is the only suspension bridge across the non-tidal Thames.[4] The Széchenyi Chain Bridge, spanning the River Danube in Budapest, was also designed by William Clark and it is a larger scale version of Marlow bridge.

Commemorative plaque on the Marlow Bridge
Plaque on the bridge in memory of John Griffith who campaigned to save it in the mid-twentieth century

In 1956–57 Marlow Bridge was restored and all of its chains were replaced.[5] It is a Grade I listed building.[5]

The bridge has a 3 tonne weight restriction and is used only by foot and local road traffic. Other traffic is carried by the Marlow By-pass Bridge.

See also

References

  1. ↑ River Thames Alliance. Bridge heights on the River Thames.
  2. 1 2 "Marlow Suspension Bridge". Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  3. 1 2 Thacker, Fred S. (1968) [1920], The Thames Highway, 2, Locks and Weirs, Newton Abbot: David & Charles, p. 290
  4. ↑ Cove-Smith, Chris (2006). The River Thames Book. Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. ISBN 0-85288-892-9.
  5. 1 2 Historic England. "Marlow Bridge, The Causeway (1332381)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

External links

Media related to Marlow Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

Next bridge upstream River Thames Next bridge downstream
Temple Footbridge
(pedestrian) 		 Marlow Bridge
Grid reference: SU851860		 Marlow By-pass Bridge
(road) 

Coordinates: 51°34′01″N 0°46′23″W / 51.567°N 0.773°W / 51.567; -0.773

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