Grandpont Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°44′50″N1°15′39″W / 51.747134°N 1.260942°W |
Carries | Footpath, Cycleway |
Crosses | River Thames |
Locale | Oxford |
Characteristics | |
Material | Iron |
Height | 12 feet 0 inches (3.66 m) [1] |
History | |
Closed | March 2021 (Temporary) |
Location | |
Grandpont Bridge is a footbridge across the River Thames near the centre of Oxford, England that was temporarily closed in March 2021. It links Friars Wharf in St Ebbes on the north bank to the Geoffrey Arthur Building of Pembroke College, built in 1990, [2] and the Grandpont area. It crosses the Thames on the reach between Iffley Lock and Osney Lock.
The bridge was also used by cyclists. It lies on the Hanson Way, part of National Cycle Network route 5. [3]
The Environment Agency refers to the bridge as "Grandpont Bridge". [4] Other sources also call the bridge "Oxford footbridge", [5] and "Gasworks Pipe Bridge", [6] the name being for the town gas, chiefly methane, produced by the treatment of coal and its less congealed coke form in particular.
The bridge was built in the 1930s. [7] The bridge only carried a utility pipe and lacked a walkway in 1977. [8] Following a survey which revealed a danger of collapse, it was closed to traffic in March 2021. [6] A contractor was appointed to fix the bridge in April 2023, and works are scheduled to be complete by October 2023. [9]
The bridge takes its name from Grandpont, the area south of the bridge, which itself takes its name from a much earlier bridge-causeway which included the next bridge downstream, now known as Folly Bridge.
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.
The English River Thames is navigable from Cricklade or Lechlade to the sea, and this part of the river falls 71 meters (234 feet). There are 45 locks on the river, each with one or more adjacent weirs. These lock and weir combinations are used for controlling the flow of water down the river, most notably when there is a risk of flooding, and provide for navigation above the tideway.
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.
Caversham Lock is a lock and main weir on the River Thames in England at Reading, Berkshire. Both the lock and main weir are connected to De Bohun Island. The Thames Navigation Commissioners built the original lock in 1778. Additional sluices north of View Island and Heron Island form the whole weir complex. A footbridge, known as The Clappers, passes over the weir and all three islands to connect Lower Caversham to Reading.
The River Evenlode is a tributary of the Thames in Oxfordshire. It rises near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, in the Cotswold Hills and flows south-east to the Thames, its valley providing the route of the southern part of the Cotswold Line. The river flows for 45 miles (72 km) from source to the River Thames.
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about 185 miles (298 km) long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996.
Grandpont is a mainly residential area in south Oxford. It is west of Abingdon Road, and consists mainly of narrow streets that run at right angles to the main road, with terraced late-Victorian and Edwardian houses.
Barnes Railway Bridge is a Grade II listed railway bridge in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. It crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the South Western Railway's Hounslow Loop Line, and lies between Barnes Bridge and Chiswick stations. It can also be crossed on foot, and is one of only three bridges in London to combine pedestrian and rail use; the others being Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges and Fulham Railway Bridge.
Folly Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Thames carrying the Abingdon Road south from the centre of Oxford, England. It was erected in 1825–27, to designs of a little-known architect, Ebenezer Perry, who practised in London.
Iffley Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near the village of Iffley, Oxfordshire. It is on the southern outskirts of Oxford. The original lock was built by the Oxford-Burcot Commission in 1631 and the Thames Navigation Commission replaced this in 1793. The lock has a set of rollers to allow punts and rowing boats to be moved between the water levels.
St Ebbes is a district of central Oxford, England, southwest of Carfax. St Ebbes Street runs south from the western end of Queen Street.
Bell Weir Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England by the right bank, Runnymede which is a water meadow associated with Egham of importance for the constitutional Magna Carta. It is upstream of the terrace of a hotel and the a bridge designed by Edwin Lutyens who designed an ornamental park gate house along the reach. The bridge has been widened and carries the M25 and A30 road across the river in a single span. The lock was first built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1817; it has one weir which is upstream. The lock is the eighth lowest of forty-five on the river and is named after the founder of the forerunner of the adjoining hotel who took charge of the lock and weir on its construction.
Osney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in Oxford, England, where the village or island of Osney is next to the river.
Shifford Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England. It is in the centre of a triangle formed by the small villages of Shifford, Duxford and Chimney in Oxfordshire. It is at the start of a navigation cut built with the lock by the Thames Conservancy in 1898. This was the only new lock built on the non-tidal Thames in the era of falling revenue after the Thames Conservancy took over responsibilities of the Thames Navigation Commission. It replaced a flash lock in a weir about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) downstream.
Buscot Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England, near the village of Buscot, Oxfordshire.
National Cycle Route 4 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from London to Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. Between these, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea and St David's. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route.
Osney Rail Bridge is a railway bridge over the River Thames at Oxford in England. It carries the Cherwell Valley Line between Didcot and Oxford across the river on the reach between Iffley Lock and Osney Lock.
Oxpens Road is a road in central Oxford, England, linking west and south Oxford. It is named after the marshy area of Oxpens, next to one of the branches of the River Thames in Oxford. It forms part of the A420 road.
Castle Mill Stream is a backwater of the River Thames in the west of Oxford, England. It is 5.5 km long.
The Gasworks Bridge, also known as the Old Gasworks Bridge, is an iron bridge across the River Thames at Oxford in England. It is a pedestrian bridge linking St Ebbes to the Grandpont nature reserve. It crosses the river on the reach between Iffley Lock and Osney Lock.