Albert Bridge is a road bridge in England running north–south and carrying the B3021 between

Datchet Datchet is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England, located on the north bank of the River Thames. Historically part of Buckinghamshire, and the Stoke Hundred, the village was eventually tr ...

and

Old Windsor Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west. Etymology The name originates from old ...

. It 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, se ...

on the reach between

Old Windsor Lock Old Windsor Lock is a lock (water transport), lock on the River Thames in England on the bank (geography), right bank beside Old Windsor, Berkshire. The lock marks the downstream end of the New cutting (transportation), Cut, a meander cutoff ...

and

Romney Lock Romney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Windsor and Eton, about half a mile downstream of Windsor Bridge. It is on the Windsor side of the river next to a boatyard and adjoins Romney Island, a long strip-shaped ait in the ...

. It was rebuilt in brick in 1927 to replace a cast-iron bridge built in 1850–51. The Albert and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Bridges in Datchet were built to replace the old Datchet Bridge as part of the rerouting of the Datchet to Windsor roads following the expansion of the grounds of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. Prince Albert is said to have had a part in the designFred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles The original bridge was built of cast iron and opened in 1851. In 1914 a large hole appeared in the bridge, but it was not until 1927 that the various authorities had agreed on its replacement and built it.Thames web on Windsor bridges
/ref> The

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it onl ...

crosses the bridge rejoining the original towpath on the Windsor side south of Home Park, the towpath access in

Home Park, Windsor The Home Park, previously known as the Little Park (and originally Lydecroft Park), is a private Royal park, administered by the Crown Estate. It lies on the eastern side of Windsor Castle in the town and former civil parish of Windsor in the E ...

having been lost due to the

Windsor Castle Act 1848 The Windsor Castle Act 1848 was a Private Act of Parliament enacted for the British royal family that reformed land use and rights around Windsor Castle, in Berkshire. The Act's main purpose was to create Home Park. All new roads and bridges we ...

Datchet Bridge

The first bridge at Datchet was a wooden structure built in 1706 funded by Queen Anne. This was replaced in 1770 by a ten-arch bridge of wood on stone piers but this collapsed in a flood in 1794, a ferry being reinstated in its place, until a third bridge was built on the remaining piers in 1812. When this structure collapsed in 1834

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

councils could not agree on the replacement with the result that whereas the former rebuilt their half in iron, the northern half was built by the latter in wood. This structure was removed in 1848 because the land on the Windsor side of the river became part of the private grounds of

. It was replaced by the Victoria and Albert Bridges.

References

Bridges in Berkshire Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Bridges across the River Thames Bridges completed in 1927 Road bridges in England Datchet Windsor, Berkshire {{UK-bridge-struct-stub

Datchet Bridge

See also

References