Clattern Bridge

Last updated

Clattern Bridge
Clattern Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 664246.jpg
Coordinates 51°24′31″N0°18′24″W / 51.4086°N 0.3068°W / 51.4086; -0.3068 Coordinates: 51°24′31″N0°18′24″W / 51.4086°N 0.3068°W / 51.4086; -0.3068
CarriesHigh Street
Crosses Hogsmill River
Locale Kingston upon Thames
Heritage status scheduled ancient monument, Grade I listed
Characteristics
Designarch
MaterialStone
Piers in water2
Location
Clattern Bridge

The Clattern Bridge is a bridge over the Hogsmill River in Kingston upon Thames. It was built around 1175 and is thus one of the oldest intact bridges in England. It replaced an older Saxon bridge which was known as the Clatrung Bridge. Its various names, such as the Clateryngbrugge, are thought to derive from the clattering of horses' hooves as they crossed the bridge. The bridge still carries a full load of modern vehicle traffic.

Contents

Up to the 18th century, the bridge was used as a site for the ducking of scolds with a cucking stool. The bridge also featured in the traditional game of football held in the centre of Kingston each year on Shrove Tuesday. It was the goal for one of the teams, while the nearby Kingston Bridge was the other goal.

Construction

The bridge was constructed around 1175, during the Norman era, replacing an earlier Saxon bridge. The lower portion consists of three arches made of properly dressed ashlar stones with a filling of flint rubble. [1] In 1758, the local authority, which was then the Kingston Court of Assembly, agreed to widen the bridge. [1] The addition was made of red brick which was bonded into the existing stone arches. [1] Brick parapets were built and these were capped with stone. [1] In 1852, the bridge was widened again with the addition of more brick-built structure. [1] An ornamental railing was added at this time. [1] This structure is considered quite sound and continues to bear a full load of traffic. [2] It was scheduled as an ancient monument on 16 February 1938 and its structure is now Grade I listed. [1]

In 2012, a zoological survey found that eels were having difficulty migrating upstream under the bridge, due to the fast flow of water across the smooth surface under the bridge. [3] Tiles were fixed to the river bed with protrusions so that the eels could wriggle up them to pass the bridge and eels are now found upstream on the Hogsmill. [4]

Traditions

The annual game of Shrove Tuesday football in front of the town hall, as shown in the Illustrated London News in 1846. The Clattern Bridge was a goal off to the left of the picture. Shrove Tuesday football in Kingston upon Thames around 1846.png
The annual game of Shrove Tuesday football in front of the town hall, as shown in the Illustrated London News in 1846. The Clattern Bridge was a goal off to the left of the picture.

Scolds were ducked at the bridge, using a cucking stool. [5] [6] Kingston was still doing this as late as 1745 when the landlady of the Queen's Head was ducked before a large crowd. [7]

A traditional game of football was held each year for centuries in Kingston. Men of the town would meet at the Druid's Head on Shrove Tuesday and then the two teams – the Townsend and the Thames-Street – would compete to get the ball to one of the two goals: the great bridge over the Thames or the Clattern Bridge. [8] William Biden tells that this started with an 8th-century dispute between rivals Kenulf and Kynard. [8] In the late 18th century, the authorities tried to suppress the game on account of its violence and disruption of the town's trade. The Riot Act was read in 1798 and the cavalry at Hampton Court was sent for but did not respond as they were playing football too. [9] The game was finally displaced from the public highway in 1867, when the authorities managed to move the game to a local playing field. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston upon Thames</span> Town in South West London

Kingston upon Thames is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as the ancient market town in which Saxon kings were crowned and today is the administrative centre of the Royal Borough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staines-upon-Thames</span> Town in Surrey, England

Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around 17 mi (27 km) west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Staines is close to Heathrow Airport and is linked to the national motorway network by the M25 and M3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Thames</span> River in southern England

The River Thames, known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surbiton</span> Suburb of London

Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has been in Greater London. Surbiton comprises four of the RBK's wards: Alexandra, Berrylands, St. Mark's, and Surbiton Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Bridge</span> Road bridge across River Thames in London, opened in 1973

Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old stone-built medieval structure. This was preceded by a succession of timber bridges, the first of which was built by the Roman founders of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster Bridge</span> Bridge over the River Thames in London

Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common scold</span> Troublesome person in English law

In the common law of crime in England and Wales, a common scold was a type of public nuisance—a troublesome and angry person who broke the public peace by habitually chastising, arguing and quarrelling with their neighbours. Most punished for scolding were women, though men could be found to be scolds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cucking stool</span> Punishment chairs

Cucking stools or ducking stools were chairs formerly used for punishment of disorderly women, scolds, and dishonest tradesmen in England, Scotland, and elsewhere. The cucking-stool was a form of wymen pine, or "women's punishment," as referred to in Langland's Piers Plowman (1378). They were instruments of public humiliation and censure both primarily for the offense of scolding or backbiting and less often for sexual offences like bearing an illegitimate child or prostitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddington Lock</span> Series of locks on the River Thames in London

Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically in Middlesex, it was first built in 1810.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walton-on-Thames</span> Human settlement in England

Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide range of transport links. According to the 2011 Census, the town has a total population of 22,834. The town itself consists mostly of affluent suburban streets, with a historic town centre of Celtic origin. It is one of the largest towns in the Elmbridge borough, alongside Weybridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hogsmill River</span> River in Surrey and Greater London, England

The Hogsmill River in Surrey and Greater London, England is a small chalk stream tributary of the River Thames. It rises in Ewell and flows into the Thames at Kingston upon Thames on the lowest non-tidal reach, that above Teddington Lock.

Richmond Bridge is an 18th-century stone arch bridge that crosses the River Thames at Richmond, connecting the two halves of the present-day London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was designed by James Paine and Kenton Couse.

Kingston Bridge is a road bridge at Kingston upon Thames in south west London, England, carrying the A308 across the River Thames. It joins the town centre of Kingston in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to Hampton Court Park, Bushy Park, and the village of Hampton Wick in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2005 it was carrying approximately 50,000 vehicles per day with up to 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction during peak times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Court Bridge</span> Bridge over the Thames linking London with Surrey, England

Hampton Court Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge that crosses the River Thames in England approximately north–south between Hampton, London and East Molesey, Surrey, carrying the A309. It is the upper of two road bridges on the reach above Teddington Lock and downstream of Molesey Lock.

Old Malden is a ward of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London, 10 miles (16 km) south west of Charing Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Ditton Island</span>

Three river islands (aits) form a linear group, close to the junction of the two main old streets of Thames Ditton village, in the River Thames in a corner of modern Surrey, on the Kingston reach above Teddington Lock. Thames Ditton Island, the dominant ait, is 350 yards (320 m) long and has 48 houses with gardens ; Boyle Farm Island has one house; Swan Island, between the two, is the smallest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames</span> Church in Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom

All Saints Church is the historic parish church of Kingston upon Thames on the edge of London, and is set between the ancient Market Place and the main shopping centre. It forms part of the Diocese of Southwark and with the church of St John, and St John the Divine, it forms a team of Anglican churches serving residents, businesses, schools and Kingston University. The church is the only Grade I listed building in Kingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston upon Thames Guildhall</span> Municipal building in London, England

The Kingston upon Thames Guildhall is a municipal building in Kingston upon Thames in England. It is situated in the High Street, adjacent to the Hogsmill River. The guildhall, which is the headquarters of Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canbury</span> District in Kingston upon Thames, London

Canbury is a district of the northern part of Kingston upon Thames that takes its name from the historic manor that covered the area. Modern Canbury comprises two electoral wards in the constituency of Richmond Park; Canbury Ward to the south and Tudor Ward to the north.

Botolph Wharf or St Botolph's Wharf was a wharf located in the City of London, on the north bank of the River Thames a short distance downstream from London Bridge. It was situated between Cox and Hammond's Quay upstream and Nicholson's Wharf downstream. On the landward side, the wharf was accessed via Thames Street. It had a frontage of 78 ft (24 m). The wharf was used for at least a thousand years before being destroyed during the Second World War. A late 1980s office building currently occupies the site.

References

It is shown as the Clayton Bridge on a map of John Roque from around 1761. Kingston 1761 Rocque.png
It is shown as the Clayton Bridge on a map of John Roque from around 1761.
The Clattern Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 24035.jpg

Citations

Sources