Rewley Road Swing Bridge is a disused railway

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then p ...

over

Sheepwash Channel Sheepwash Channel connects the River Thames to the west and the Castle Mill Stream next to the Oxford Canal to the east (linked through Isis Lock), in west Oxford, England. To the north are Cripley Meadow (largely allotments) and Fiddler's I ...

in west

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. To the north are

Cripley Meadow Cripley Meadow lies between the Castle Mill Stream, a backwater of the River Thames, and the Cotswold Line railway to the east, and Fiddler's Island, on the main branch of the Thames to the west, in Oxford, England. It is to the south of the ...

and

Fiddler's Island Fiddler's Island is an island in the River Thames at Oxford in England. It is situated south of Port Meadow on the reach above Osney Lock. The north part of the island sits between the River Thames and the top end of Castle Mill Stream, a Thame ...

and to the south are

Osney Island Osney or Osney Island (; an earlier spelling of the name is ''Oseney'') is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. In modern times the name is applied to a community also known as Osney Town astride Botley Road, just we ...

and the

Botley Road Botley Road is the main road into the centre of Oxford, England from the west. It stretches between Botley, on the Oxford Ring Road ( A34) to the west of the city, and Frideswide Square at the junction with Oxford railway station, close t ...

. The bridge was designed by

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson FRS HFRSE FRSA DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father. ...

and built in 1850–1. It was reconstructed in 1890 and 1906, latterly using steel

girder A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ...

s. The bridge closed to passenger traffic in 1951 and to goods in 1984.

Overview

The swing bridge was for the former

Buckinghamshire Railway The Buckinghamshire Railway was a railway company in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England that constructed railway lines connecting Bletchley, Banbury and Oxford. Part of the route is still in use today as the Oxford to Bicester Line. His ...

line of

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the ...

that used to serve the

Oxford Rewley Road railway station Oxford Rewley Road railway station was a railway station serving the city of Oxford, England, located immediately to the north of what is now Frideswide Square on the site of the Saïd Business School, to the west of Rewley Road. It was the t ...

(later

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally ...

, LMS), which was on the site of the

Saïd Business School Saïd Business School (Oxford Saïd or SBS) is the business school of the University of Oxford. The School is a provider of management education and is consistently ranked as one of the world's top business schools. Oxford School of Management ...

. It is close to

Rewley Road Rewley Road is in the west of central Oxford, England. It is located in St Thomas's parish. History The name derives from Rewley Abbey. A ''Rewley Lane'' (or ''Ruley Lane'') existed in 1538. Oxford Rewley Road railway station used to be loca ...

Bridge to the east and

Sheepwash Channel Railway Bridge Sheepwash Channel Railway Bridge is a railway bridge over Sheepwash Channel in west Oxford, England, just north of Oxford railway station. To the north are Cripley Meadow and Fiddler's Island. To the south are Osney Island and the Botley Road. ...

to the west, which also cross Sheepwash Channel.

Restoration project

The bridge is one of two swing bridges in England that are scheduled monuments. In 2019, ownership passed from

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

to the

Oxford Preservation Trust The Oxford Preservation Trust was founded in 1927 to preserve the city of Oxford, England. The Trust seeks to enhance Oxford by encouraging thoughtful development and new design, while protecting historic buildings and green open spaces. The T ...

.Regional News ''

Rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters * Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ...

'' issue 882 3 July 2019 page 26

Gallery

File:Rail swing bridge , Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 1610155.jpg, View of the swing bridge over Sheepwash Channel in 1977 when it was still in operation. File:Swing bridge over the canal - geograph.org.uk - 1405691.jpg, The swing bridge in the open position on the north bank of the Sheepwash Channel. File:End of the bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1405718.jpg, Close-up view of the end of the bridge. File:Looking up the canal - geograph.org.uk - 1405703.jpg, View of Sheepwash Channel, with the site of the old swing bridge in the foreground and the newer railway bridge in the background. File:Rail swing bridge , Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 1610161.jpg, The Sheepwash Channel with the old swing bridge and the newer railway bridge behind. File:Rewley Road Swing Bridge reconstruction September 2021.jpg, Rewley Road Swing Bridge undergoing restoration in September 2021.

References

{{reflist Bridges completed in 1851 Railway bridges in Oxfordshire Former railway bridges in the United Kingdom Swing bridges in England 1851 establishments in England 1851 in rail transport 1984 disestablishments in England