Osney Bridge
Osney Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°45′10″N 1°16′23″W / 51.752694°N 1.273093°W |
Carries | A420 road, Thames Path |
Crosses | River Thames |
Locale | Oxford |
Maintained by | Oxfordshire County Council |
Characteristics | |
Design | arch |
Material | Iron |
Height | 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m)[1] |
No. of spans | 1 |
History | |
Opened | 1889 |
Location | |
Osney Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in Oxford, England, built in 1888 to replace a stone bridge which collapsed in 1885.[2] It carries the Botley Road (A420) from Botley into Oxford. The Thames Path crosses the river on this bridge, just above Osney Lock.
The original bridge was probably built by the monks of Osney Abbey, to carry the main road across the millstream of Osney Mill west of the island then known as Osney.[3] By the early 17th century it was a three-arch stone construction. In 1790 the millstream became the main navigation channel of the river, and the bridge had become a serious obstruction to navigation by the mid 19th century. In 1885 the central arch collapsed, leaving massive piers.[4]
Proposals to raise Osney Bridge
Osney Bridge has the lowest headroom (less than 7 feet 6 inches, or 2.3 metres) of any bridge across the navigable Thames; this limits the size of boats that can travel past it without having to be removed from the water and replaced upstream of the bridge. Some boats that are able to pass upstream at "low water" may then become trapped as the water level rises.
Whereas some
See also
- Crossings of the River Thames
- Seacourt Stream
- Bulstake Bridge over Bulstake Stream
References
- ^ "Bridge heights on the River Thames". River Thames Alliance. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
- ^ Eade, John (2005). "Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide". Retrieved 14 May 2009.
- ^ Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R. (eds.); Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Hassall, T.G.; Selwyn, Nesta (1979). A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 4: Communications. Victoria County History.
{{cite book}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help) - OCLC 55209571.
- ^ "WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE" [1]