Newbury Bridge

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Newbury Bridge
Lock through the bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1078108.jpg
View of Newbury Bridge looking upstream, with Newbury Lock beyond
Coordinates 51°24′06″N1°19′27″W / 51.401580°N 1.324237°W / 51.401580; -1.324237 Coordinates: 51°24′06″N1°19′27″W / 51.401580°N 1.324237°W / 51.401580; -1.324237
CarriesBridge Street
Crosses River Kennet
Locale Newbury
Heritage status Grade II* listed
Characteristics
Design Arch
History
Constructed byJames Clarke (or Clark)
Inaugurated1772
Location
Newbury Bridge
The bridge seen looking downstream from the lock Lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in Central Newbury Berkshire.JPG
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]

Contents

History

The first bridge across the River Kennet in Newbury dates back to the Middle Ages, and the earliest reference to it is an account of its reconstruction in the 14th Century. In 1312, King Edward II directed that the bridge should be kept in good order. [3] By 1623, the bridge is recorded as being built of wood, being 30 feet (9.1 m) in length and 20 feet (6.1 m) in width, and having shops on it. However on 5 February of that year, the bridge collapsed unexpectedly. The bridge was presumably rebuilt, as in 1644, during the Second Battle of Newbury, a guard was placed on the bridge by the Cavaliers to prevent an attack from the south by 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 World War II, Newbury Bridge still provided the only through road crossing over the Kennet in the Newbury area, and military planners were concerned about the consequences of it being damaged or destroyed in an air raid. As a result, in 1940, a temporary bridge was built some 250 metres (820 ft) downstream, this bridge becoming known as the 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]

Related Research Articles

Newbury, Berkshire Market town in England

Newbury is a market town in the county of Berkshire, England, and is home to the administrative headquarters of West Berkshire Council. The town centre around its large market square retains a rare medieval Cloth Hall, an adjoining half timbered granary, and the 15th-century St Nicolas Church, along with 17th- and 18th-century listed buildings. As well as being home to Newbury Racecourse, it is the headquarters of Vodafone and software company Micro Focus International. In the valley of the River Kennet, 26 mi (42 km) south of Oxford, 25 mi (40 km) north of Winchester, 27 mi (43 km) southeast of Swindon and 20 mi (32 km) west of Reading.

River Avon, Bristol River in the south west of England

The River Avon is a river in the south west of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is a cognate of the Welsh word afon, meaning 'river'.

Kennet and Avon Canal Canal in southern England

The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles (140 km), made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.

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County Lock

County Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in Reading town centre in the English county of Berkshire. It is now administered by the Canal & River Trust as part of the Kennet and Avon Canal. Downstream from the lock is Brewery Gut, a particularly fast flowing, narrow and dangerous stretch of the river.

Hanham Lock

Hanham Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, at the village of Hanham near Bristol, England.

Keynsham Lock

Keynsham Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon at Keynsham, England.

Saltford Lock Canal lock on the River Avon, England

Saltford Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, at the village of Saltford, between Bristol and Bath, England.

Kelston Lock

Kelston Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, between the villages of Kelston and Saltford, between Bristol and Bath, England.

Weston Lock

Weston Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, on the western outskirts of Bath, England, in what now forms the Newbridge suburb of Bath.

Tyle Mill Lock

Tyle Mill Lock is a lock situated near Tyle Mill and the village of Sulhamstead on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.

Garston Lock

Garston Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It is near the M4 motorway and near Reading, England.

Sheffield Lock

Sheffield Lock, at grid reference SU648706, is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the civil parish of Burghfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is also sometimes known as Shenfield Lock.

Newbury Lock

Newbury Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in the town centre of Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. It has a rise/fall of 3 ft 6 in, and is situated just upstream of Newbury Bridge.

Woolhampton Lock

Woolhampton Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the village of Woolhampton in the English county of Berkshire. The lock has a rise/fall of 8 feet 11 inches (2.72 m) and is administered by the Canal and River Trust.

Caen Hill Locks Flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal

Caen Hill Locks are a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Rowde and Devizes in Wiltshire, England.

John Hore

John Hore was an English engineer, best known for making the River Kennet and River Avon navigable. Hore was one of the earliest English canal engineers, and Sir Alec Skempton wrote that he was "in the first rank among the navigation engineers". The Hutchinson Chronology of World History described his work on the Kennet navigation as "[setting] a new standard for inland waterways, and is an important forerunner of the canals of the Industrial Revolution".

Bridge Street, Reading

Bridge Street, formerly known as Seven Bridges, is a historic street in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It took its original name from the seven bridges that carried it over various channels of the River Kennet, and was the earliest crossing place of that river in the town.

John Blackwell was an English civil engineer, known for his work as superintending engineer of the Kennet and Avon Canal under John Rennie and later as the canal company's resident engineer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Newbury Bridge". newburyhistory.co.uk. Newbury History. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "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. ↑ Russell, John (1997). The Kennet & Avon Canal: A journey from Newbury to Bath in 1964. Bath, UK: Millstream Books. p. 11. ISBN   978-0-948975-46-2.
  5. ↑ "A34 Newbury Bypass Opens". Highways Agency. COI West Midlands. 17 November 1998. NB348/98. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
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