Chiswick Bridge
Chiswick Bridge | |
---|---|
lowest astronomical tide[1] | |
History | |
Designer | Sir Herbert Baker and Alfred Dryland |
Constructed by | Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company |
Opened | 3 July 1933 |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 39,710 vehicles (2004)[2] |
Location | |
Chiswick Bridge is a
The bridge is built on the site of a former ferry. It is 606 feet (185 m) long and faced with 3,400 tons of Portland stone. When the 150-foot (46 m) central span opened it was the longest concrete span over the Thames. The bridge is well known for its proximity to the end of The Championship Course, the stretch of the Thames used for the Boat Race and other rowing events.
Background
The villages of Chiswick and Mortlake, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of central London on the north and south banks of the River Thames, had been linked by a ferry since at least the 17th century. Both areas were sparsely populated, so there was little demand for a fixed river crossing at that point.[3]
With the arrival of railways and the
After the
A new
Design
The new bridge was designed in reinforced concrete by architect Sir Herbert Baker and engineer Alfred Dryland, with additional input from Considère Constructions, at the time Britain's leading specialist in reinforced concrete construction.[6]
The bridge has concrete
Unusually for a Thames bridge, only three of Chiswick Bridge's five spans cross the river; the shorter spans at each end of the bridge cross the former towpaths.[8] To allow sufficient clearance for industrial barges yet avoid steep inclines, the approach roads are elevated on embankments.[9]
The bridge was built by the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company at a cost of £208,284 (about £15,731,000 in 2024).[10][11] Additional costs such as building the approach roads and buying land brought the total project cost to £227,600 (about £17,190,000 in 2024).[5][11][n 1] The Ministry of Transport paid 75% of the cost, with Surrey and Middlesex county councils paying the rest.
The bridge was generally well received. Country Life praised the design as "reflecting in its general design the eighteenth century Palladian tradition of Lord Burlington's famous villa at Chiswick".[12][n 2]
Present-day
Chiswick Bridge is a major transport route, and the eighth busiest of London's 20 Thames road bridges.[2] It is possibly best known for its proximity to the finishing line of The Championship Course, the stretch of the Thames used for the Boat Race and other rowing events.[7] A University Boat Race Stone on the south shore, an urban embankment, faces a brightly painted Cambridge and Oxford blues wooden obelisk. This is the end of the course – 370 feet (110 m) east of the bridge.[8]
The towpath under the bridge on the southern bank now forms part of the
See also
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ Sources disagree as to what proportion of this went on the construction; Smith (2001) and Davenport (2006) both give a figure of £175,700, while other sources generally say the other sum. All sources concur that the total costs of the Chiswick Bridge part of the project came to £227,600.
- ^ The reference to "Lord Burlington's famous villa" refers to Chiswick House, Chiswick's most significant building architecturally. The grounds and grand outbuildings of the house abut the far end of the northern approach.
References
- ^ Thames Bridges Heights, Port of London Authority, retrieved 25 May 2009
- ^ a b Cookson 2006, p. 316
- ^ a b c d e f Matthews 2008, p. 42
- ^ Cookson 2006, p. 41
- ^ a b c d Smith 2001, p. 41
- ^ a b c d e f g Davenport 2006, p. 83
- ^ a b c Pay, Lloyd & Waldegrave 2009, p. 93
- ^ a b c Matthews 2008, p. 43
- ^ Cookson 2006, p. 67
- ^ Cookson 2006, p. 66
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ Country Life, 8 July 1933, quoted in Cookson 2006 p.69
- ^ McDonnell, Colleen (3 February 2008), "Park 'needs better access'", Richmond and Twickenham Times, retrieved 31 May 2009
Bibliography
- Cookson, Brian (2006), Crossing the River, Edinburgh: Mainstream, OCLC 63400905
- Davenport, Neil (2006), Thames Bridges: From Dartford to the source, Kettering: Silver Link Publishing, ISBN 1-85794-229-9
- Matthews, Peter (2008), London's Bridges, Oxford: Shire, OCLC 213309491
- Pay, Ian; Lloyd, Sampson; Waldegrave, Keith (2009), London's Bridges: Crossing the royal river, Wisley: Artists' and Photographers' Press, OCLC 280442308
- Smith, Denis (2001), Civil Engineering Heritage London and the Thames Valley, London: Thomas Telford, ISBN 0-7277-2876-8
External links