Newbury Bridge

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Coordinates: 51°24′06″N 1°19′27″W / 51.401580°N 1.324237°W / 51.401580; -1.324237
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Newbury Bridge
View of Newbury Bridge looking upstream, with Newbury Lock beyond
Coordinates51°24′06″N 1°19′27″W / 51.401580°N 1.324237°W / 51.401580; -1.324237
CarriesBridge Street
CrossesRiver Kennet
LocaleNewbury
Heritage statusGrade II* listed
Characteristics
DesignArch
History
Constructed byJames Clarke (or Clark)
Inaugurated1772
Location
Map
The bridge seen looking downstream from the lock

Newbury Bridge, also known as Kennet Bridge or Town Bridge, is a bridge across the River Kennet in the town centre of Newbury in the English county of Berkshire. The bridge carries Bridge Street, which links Northbrook Street, to the north of the river, with Bartholomew Street, to the south. The river channel under the bridge is also used by boats navigating the Kennet and Avon Canal. The current bridge was built between 1769 and 1772 and has three arches, although the two outer arches are now hidden by flanking buildings. It is a Grade II* listed structure.[1][2]

History

The first bridge across the River Kennet in Newbury dates back to the

Roundheads.[1]

In 1723, the

Kennet Navigation made the River Kennet navigable downstream from Newbury to the River Thames in Reading, but the navigation terminated to the east of the bridge and did not pass under it. In 1726, the wooden bridge was swept away by floods and subsequently replaced with another similar bridge. In 1769 this bridge was demolished and work started on the current triple arched stone and brick bridge. The work was under the direction of the builder, who is variously reported as James Clarke or James Clark, and was completed in 1772.[1][2]

In 1794, work started on the centre section of the Kennet and Avon Canal, which would extend the Kennet Navigation to Bath, thus providing a through route between London and Bristol. The new canal used the stretch of the River Kennet under the bridge to gain access to Newbury Lock, the first lock on the new section. As the bridge pre-dated the canal, there was no provision for a towpath under the bridge. In the absence of this, a line to haul the barge had to be floated under the bridge and then re-attached to the horse where the tow path resumed. Over time, grooves were worn by hauling lines under the bridge and these can still be seen today.[1][2][4]

By the outbreak of

American Bridge and lasting until it was replaced in 2001. The American Bridge was to be the first of three bypass bridges built. The second was a bridge on the first Newbury by-pass, 100 metres (330 ft) further downstream from the American Bridge, opened in 1963. When the first by-pass proved insufficient to cope with the volume of traffic travelling north-south through the Newbury area, a second by-pass was built to the west of Newbury. This included separate bridges over the river and canal some 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) upstream of the Town Bridge, and opened in 1998.[1][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Newbury Bridge". newburyhistory.co.uk. Newbury History. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Bridge over River Kennet". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. British Listed Buildings. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. ^ Maxwell Lyte, H.C. "Close Rolls, Edward II: November 1312 Pages 556-559 Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward II: Volume 1, 1307-1313. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1892". British History Online. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. ISBN 978-0-948975-46-2
    .
  5. Highways Agency. COI West Midlands. 17 November 1998. NB348/98. Archived
    from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.

External links
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