Newbridge is a 13th-century bridge carrying the Abingdon–

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

road (now the A415) 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 ...

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 ...

, England, close to the Thames' confluence with the

River Windrush The River Windrush is a tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire and flows south east for via Burford and Witney to meet the Thames at Newbridge in Oxfordshire. The river gives its name to t ...

. It is one of the two oldest surviving bridges on the Thames, part

Grade I 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 ...

and part Grade II*-listed. The bridge is in a rural setting, with a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

at either end: the Maybush Inn on the south bank and the Rose Revived on the other. The bridge consists of two spans. The northern span crosses the river and the southern span, south of the Maybush, is dry underneath except when the river floods.

History

The bridge dates from the 13th century and is built of Taynton stone in the same way as

Radcot Bridge Radcot Bridge is a crossing of the Thames in England, south of Radcot, Oxfordshire, and north of Faringdon, Oxfordshire which is in the district of that county that was in Berkshire. It carries the A4095 road across the reach above Radcot L ...

, which is slightly older. They were built by monks on the orders of

King John King John may refer to: Rulers * John, King of England (1166–1216) * John I of Jerusalem (c. 1170–1237) * John Balliol, King of Scotland (c. 1249–1314) * John I of France (15–20 November 1316) * John II of France (1319–1364) * John I o ...

in order to improve communications between the

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

towns in the south of England and the

Cotswold The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Juras ...

farms, and this was named "New Bridge" as it was the youngest out of the three bridges built at the time (the third being the Lechlade bridge, replaced in the 19th century). It was originally much longer than it is now, with 51 arches and being long, compared with the current 12 arches. Whether Newbridge or Radcot Bridge is the oldest bridge today across the Thames is debatable – Radcot Bridge was built earlier but was extensively damaged during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

and had to be greatly rebuilt; furthermore, Radcot Bridge no longer crosses the main channel of the river since local reroutings in 1787. In 1644, in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the Battle of Newbridge was fought on the banks of the river. Parliamentarian William Waller attempted to cross in order to surround Oxford and capture

King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, Sp ...

, but was defeated. In 2007 the area was flooded extensively.

Current status

The bridge is controlled by

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

, not being designed to carry modern traffic, and an weight limit is imposed to protect its weakening structure. Further reductions are considered likely by local authorities. According to a 1996 survey, one of the arches is only capable of carrying its own weight, though it was decided that there was enough leeway to allow traffic to continue across the bridge. The likelihood of collapse is considered "slim". In 2007, local authorities decided to enter into negotiations to buy land that could be used to build a new bridge upriver, believing that this is the only long-term option available. The idea of a new bridge is opposed by local residents of Standlake who would prefer to see the existing bridge remain open for light traffic only. In 2017, Oxfordshire County Council installed number-plate recognition cameras to protect Newbridge from overweight vehicles, the first time that ANPR cameras were used to enforce a road weight restriction in the county. The bridge has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration. The northern span is listed at maximal

and the southern at Grade II*, the second-highest of the three grades of listing, designating "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". Newbridgefloods2007

History

Current status

See also

References

Further reading