Twickenham Bridge crosses the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in southwest

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Built in 1933 as part of the newly constructed "Chertsey

Arterial Road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

", the bridge connects the

Old Deer Park Old Deer Park is an area of open space within Richmond, London, Richmond, owned by the Crown Estate, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It covers of which are leased as sports grounds for sports, particularly rugby, gol ...

district of Richmond (historically

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

) on the south bank of the river to St. Margarets (historically

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

) on the north bank, both within the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

. Twickenham Bridge gets its name from the fact that it is on the road to the town of

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

(also in the same London borough), which is approximately 3 km upstream from Twickenham Bridge, past Richmond Bridge. Given the bridge's unique position on the river, St Margarets is actually at the southwestern end of the bridge, despite being on the north bank, while Richmond, south of the Thames, is at the northeastern end of the bridge. The bridge forms part of today's A316 (Chertsey Road), which links Central and West London with the M3 motorway at

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames, known locally as Sunbury, is a town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other su ...

. The bridge's architect was

Maxwell Ayrton Ormrod Maxwell Ayrton Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA (1874 – 18 February 1960), known as Maxwell Ayrton, was an England, English architect. He spent most of his adult life working in London and designed houses, public buildings, ...

and the head engineer was Alfred Dryland. The proposed design of the bridge envisaged four 70 foot towers to be constructed on the riverbanks with retaining walls of 20 feet above road level. The plans were widely opposed and a local petition was organised by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' against the design on the grounds that it was inappropriate to the setting in Richmond. The final design of the bridge was of three reinforced-concrete arches supported on concrete piers with

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

embellishments. The bridge incorporates three permanent hinges enabling the structure to adjust to changes in temperature, the first reinforced concrete bridge structure in the UK to use such an innovation. The arch springings, as well as the arch crowns, have decorative bronze cover plates. Ribbed shuttering was used in the casting of the concrete piers and abutments, giving the main faces a ribbed finish that was then knocked back. The approach

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

and retaining walls were constructed in precast blocks that were wire brushed to create a rough finish. The balustrades and lamps were constructed of open bronzework. The Bromsgrove Guild was employed in casting and fitting the bronze lamp standards and parapets as well as the railings on the four staircases between road level and the river bank The bridge, along with the newly built Chiswick Bridge and the rebuilt Hampton Court Bridge, was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales on 3 July 1933. In 1992, the first Gatso speed camera in the United Kingdom was launched on Twickenham Bridge. The bridge was declared a Grade II* listed structure in 2008, providing protection to preserve its special character from unsympathetic development.

References

External links

Twickenham Bridge (Tour UK)
{{LB Richmond Bridges in London Bridges completed in 1933 Transport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Bridges across the River Thames Road bridges in England Grade II* listed bridges in London Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

See also

References

External links