Goring and Streatley Bridge is a road bridge across 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 ...

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 b ...

. The bridge links the twin villages of

Goring-on-Thames Goring-on-Thames (or Goring) is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about south of Wallingford and northwest of Reading. It had a population of 3,187 in the 2011 census, put at 3,335 in 2019. Goring ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, and Streatley,

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 is adjacent to

Goring Lock Goring Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England at the Goring Gap in the Chiltern Hills. The lock is located on the Oxfordshire bank at Goring-On-Thames, with Streatley, Berkshire on the opposite side of the river. ...

. The present bridge was built in 1923, and is in two parts: The western bridge is from Streatley to an island in the river (overlooking ''The Swan'' hotel, once owned by

Danny La Rue Danny La Rue, (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish singer and entertainer, best known for his on-stage drag queen, drag persona. He performed in drag and also as himself in theatrical productions, television ...

); The eastern bridge is from the island to Goring and overlooks Goring Lock. The bridge consists of timber struts supporting a metal roadway. Both 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 ...

and

The Ridgeway The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countryside The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk r ...

cross the Thames on this bridge. A bridge was first built here in 1837 being a flat timber bridge of beams on posts. Prior to this there was a ferry although occasionally people would ride across, even driving in a one-horse chaise. In 1674 the ferry turned over in the weir pool with the loss of sixty lives.Fred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles In the 1970s a

Citroën Dyane The Citroën Dyane is an economy family car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. The Dyane's design remained almost completely based on the Citroën 2CV and its underpinnings, but at the same time received almost all new ...

crashed through the railings at the Streatley end of the bridge landing on a concrete weir 16 feet below. The local Citroën dealer used the photo to illustrate the inherent strength of their upmarket 2CV.

References

Bridges in Berkshire Bridges in Oxfordshire Bridges completed in 1923 Bridges across the River Thames 1923 establishments in England Road bridges in England {{UK-bridge-struct-stub

See also

References