Staines Bridge
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| Staines Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Carries | A308 road |
| Crosses | River Thames |
| Locale | Staines |
| Designer | George Rennie |
| Design | Arch |
| Material | Stone |
| Number of spans | 3 |
| Piers in water | 2 |
| Opening date | 1832 |
Staines Bridge is a road bridge running in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey. It is on the modern A308 road and links the boroughs of Spelthorne and Runnymede at Staines and Egham Hythe.
The bridge crosses the Thames on the reach between Penton Hook Lock and Bell Weir Lock, and is close to and upstream of the main mouth of the River Colne, a tributary.
Contents |
[edit] History
According to local museums, the original bridge traversed Church Island, Staines in Roman times, and lay on an important Roman road connecting London with Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester}. However, whether this bridge survived into the Dark Ages or not is not known. A wooden bridge was built in 1222, and the first stone bridge was built at the present site in 1796. The current bridge with three arches was designed by George Rennie, construction started in 1827, and it was opened in 1832. [1]
From the 1940s until the 1970s this was a hotspot for summer holiday traffic jams due to many motorists heading from London towards the south-west. When the M3 and later the M25 bridges were constructed, the traffic was diverted away from the town.
[edit] Roman Road
The Roman Road does not have a popular name, but a straight line road route from Staines to London Wall can clearly be traced on modern maps via the A30, A315, A402 and Oxford Street. It passes through the modern towns of Hounslow, Brentford, Shepherds Bush and Holborn, interrupted only by a stretch of the District Line between Gunnersbury and Turnham Green. The route west of Staines is less clear, because of subsequent agricultural land use, and possibly flood erosion.
The next Roman road clockwise out of London is Watling Street to Wroxeter (Viroconium) near Shrewsbury, and the next Roman road anti-clockwise is the confusingly-named Stane Street to Chichester (Noviomagus Regnorum).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
| Next crossing upstream | River Thames | Next crossing downstream |
| M25 Runnymede Bridge (motorway) | Staines Bridge Grid reference: TQ031715 |
Staines Railway Bridge (railway) |
| Next crossing upstream | Thames Path | Next crossing downstream |
| southern bank Albert Bridge |
Staines Bridge | northern bank Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry |
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