Marlow Bridge is a road traffic and foot bridge over 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 ...

between the town of

Marlow, Buckinghamshire Marlow (; historically Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow) is a town and civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the River Thames, south-southwest of High Wycombe, west-northwest of Maidenhead and ...

and the village of

Bisham Bisham is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. The village is on the River Thames, around south of Marlow in the neighbouring county of Buckinghamshire, and around northwest of Maide ...

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 ...

. It crosses the Thames just upstream of

Marlow Lock Marlow Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, about 300m downstream of Marlow Bridge. The first pound lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773. The weir stre ...

, on the reach to

Temple Lock Temple Lock is a lock and weir situated on the Buckinghamshire bank of the River Thames near Temple Mill Island opposite Temple Meadows and not far from Hurley, Berkshire. It was first built by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773. ...

. The bridge is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. There has been a bridge on the site since the reign of

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

which was stated in around 1530 to have been of timber, though an original crossing to the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

of Bisham may date from 1309. In 1642 this bridge was partly destroyed by a Parliamentarian army. In 1789 a new timber bridge was built by public subscription with a contribution from the

Thames Navigation Commission The Thames Navigation Commission managed the River Thames in southern England from 1751 to 1866. In particular, they were responsible for installing or renovating many of the locks on the river in the 18th and early 19th centuries History The f ...

to increase the headroom underneath. The current

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

was designed by

William Tierney Clark William Tierney Clark Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, FRAS (23 August 1783 – 22 September 1852) was an English civil engineer particularly associated with the design and construction of bridges. ...

and was built between 1829 and 1832, replacing a wooden bridge further downstream which collapsed in 1828. The

Széchenyi Chain Bridge The Széchenyi Chain Bridge ( hu, Széchenyi lánchíd ) is a chain bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark a ...

, spanning the

River Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, was also designed by William Tierney Clark and it is a larger scale version of Marlow bridge. Marlow Bridge plaque

In 1965, the bridge was restored. It has a 3

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

weight restriction and is used only by foot and local road traffic. Other traffic is carried by the

Marlow By-pass Bridge Marlow By-pass Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England. It carries the A404 road between Maidenhead, Berkshire and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. and crosses the Thames on the reach between Cookham Lock and Marlow Lock. Th ...

. On 24 September 2016, a 37-tonne Lithuanian haulage lorry attempted to pass over the bridge, requiring it to be closed for two months to allow

Buckinghamshire County Council Buckinghamshire County Council was the upper-tier local authority for the administrative county and later the non-metropolitan county of Buckinghamshire, in England, the United Kingdom established in 1889 following the Local Government Act 1888 ...

to undertake a series of stress tests on the suspension bridge hangers and pins, together with ultrasound and magnetic particle tests. No significant damage to the bridge was found, and it was reopened on Friday 25 November following restoration of sections exposed for weld testing with three coats of paint, removal of scaffolding surrounding the bridge's two towers, and reinstatement of timber work removed for inspection.

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* {{River item box , River =

, upstream =

Temple Footbridge Temple Footbridge is a pedestrian only bridge near Hurley, Berkshire across the River Thames in England. It connects the Buckinghamshire and Berkshire banks. It crosses the Thames just above Temple Lock. The bridge was built in 1989 specific ...

, upsub = (pedestrian) , downstream =

, downsub = (road) , type = bridge , location = SU851860 Bridges in Berkshire Bridges in Buckinghamshire Bridges completed in 1832 Bridges across the River Thames Grade I listed bridges Grade I listed buildings in Berkshire Road bridges in England Suspension bridges in the United Kingdom Grade I listed buildings in Buckinghamshire Marlow, Buckinghamshire Bisham

See also

References

External links