Culham Bridge
Culham Bridge | |
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Abingdon, Oxfordshire | |
Maintained by | Oxfordshire County Council |
Characteristics | |
Design | Arch bridge |
Material | Stone |
No. of spans | Five |
History | |
Construction end | 1422 |
Closed | 1927 |
Location | |
Culham Bridge is a medieval bridge crossing a present backwater of the
It is a
History
Culham Bridge was built of stone between 1416 and 1422 to replace an ancient ford called Culham Hythe by a religious body known as The Brotherhood of Christ (later Christ's Hospital) who subsequently looked after its upkeep.[2] It was built as part of an improvement scheme, together with the two bridges at Abingdon and a causeway across Andersey Island. It is recorded that the completion of Abingdon Bridge severely damaged trade at Wallingford.[3]
In the early seventeenth century the Oxford-Burcot Commission constructed a lock at the top of Swift Ditch to direct navigation under Culham Bridge and this remained the main route of the Thames until Abingdon Lock was built in 1790.[3]
During the
In the eighteenth century the road was in a very bad state, leading to an Act of Parliament for its improvement.[5] The bridge carried the main traffic until 1928, when the modern road bridge was built upstream of it and Culham Bridge became a pedestrian bridge.[2]
During World War II two concrete pill boxes were built on the bridge, each weighing 250 tons and carrying anti-tank guns,[6] and part of the parapet was removed to make way for a concrete platform. The bridge was subsequently restored and is classified as an ancient monument.[2]
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Old Culham Bridge (South Side)
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Old Culham Bridge (North Side)
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Footpath Over Bridge (East Side)
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Footpath Over Bridge (West Side)
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Bridge and Cottage
See also
- Crossings of the River Thames
- Sutton Bridge, Oxfordshire
References
- ^ "Culham Old Bridge". Historic England. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d Parishes: Culham, A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 7: Dorchester and Thame hundreds (1962), pp. 27-39. Date accessed: 11 February 2010
- ^ a b Fred. S. Thacker The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles
- ^ Memorial in Christ Church Cathedral Oxford
- ^ Votes of the House of commons (which were concerned with the Oxfordshire election) Published 1754 Original from Oxford University
- ^ Structurae database