Sonning Backwater Bridges are the road bridges across the first two of three branches of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Sonning Eye Sonning Eye is a hamlet on the River Thames in the Sonning Common ward of South Oxfordshire, England, in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden (one of its four small settlements), at what is since 1974 the southernmost tip of Oxfordshire. Geography ...

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 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 ...

. Built in 1986 to replace older wooden structures, one bridge spans a main weir stream – traditionally named the backwater – and the other spans the splayed under-mill outlets from the

millrace A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel (sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mil ...

of the island known as Sonning Eye. These two bridges are paired with the follow-on, much older, brick arches of

Sonning Bridge Sonning Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames at Sonning, Berkshire. It links Sonning with Sonning Eye (Oxfordshire) and crosses the Thames on the reach above Shiplake Lock, just short of Sonning Lock. It is a brick arch bridge complet ...

over the navigation channel which thereby enters

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 ...

– specifically

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

. Together, all these bridges form a near perfectly straight line. All three including their two very short causeways or viaducts between them form the longest structure to cross the river below

Wallingford, Oxfordshire Wallingford () is a historic market town and civil parish located between Oxford and Reading on the River Thames in England. Although belonging to the historic county of Berkshire, it is within the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire for adminis ...

and above

Windsor Railway Bridge Windsor Railway Bridge is a wrought iron ' bow and string' bridge in Windsor, Berkshire, crossing the River Thames on the reach between Romney Lock and Boveney Lock. It carries the branch line between Slough and Windsor. The Windsor Railway Bri ...

Main channel crossed

A few hundred metres upstream along the backwater – a traditional term, as it is today a main weir stream – are the feeding *side

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

and *leading small sluice This channel runs along the north-west bank. This bridge acts as the lead-up or viaduct to the old stone arches of Sonning Bridge which pass over the navigation channel below

Sonning Lock Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

. The lock makes use of a much smaller island above, against the Sonning bank and has small side sluices downstream of it through a path isthmus linked to the main mill island.

Theatre (mill island)

On the upstream of the break in the middle of the bridge is the

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 ...

: the

Mill at Sonning The Mill at Sonning is a theatre and restaurant (or dinner theater), converted from a circa-1800 flour mill on earlier foundations, on an island in the River Thames at Sonning Eye in the English county of Berkshire. The river divides into th ...

, since the 1980s a 215-seat, air-conditioned dinner theatre. Its sits on the river's once single island. The island's divide is the underlying mill race which unusually splits into two at its very end so more wheels could be powered by the river. Its rear/side building is the residential mill house, approximately built in 1800, which was at a similar time, discounting the theatre's many alterations. Aside from these two buildings the island is mostly wooded, particularly with willows but also some other mature trees.

Bankside hotel

Built partly in the late 19th century is the French Horn, a large hotel-restaurant north of the bridge, overlooking it.

History

The overall structure replaced a wooden and somewhat rickety one. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were complaints about the

traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...

s causing it structural problems and disturbing the peace, much as there is with traffic today.The Beautiful Sonning Bridges, ''

The Sphere ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', page 275, 13 September 1902. The road (the B478) is the busiest B road in Oxfordshire, being the only way for

road vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), water ...

s to cross the Thames between

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. The bridges are occasionally inundated or closed to traffic when the Thames is in extreme flood; the waters regularly rise to the steps of the French Horn and submerge the car park of The Flowing Spring pub.

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure =

Crossings Crossings may refer to: * ''Crossings'' (Buffy novel), a 2002 original novel based on the U.S. television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' * Crossings (game), a two-player abstract strategy board game invented by Robert Abbott * ''Crossings'' ...

, place =

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 ...

, upstream=

Caversham Lock Caversham Lock is a lock and main weir on the River Thames in England at Reading, Berkshire. Both the lock and main weir are connected to De Bohun Island (colloquially known as Lock Island). The Thames Navigation Commissioners built the ori ...

(pedestrian)

Reading Bridge Reading Bridge is a road bridge over the River Thames at Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The bridge links the centre of Reading on the south bank with the Lower Caversham area of the cross-river suburb, and former village, of Cave ...

(vehicular), downstream=

Shiplake Railway Bridge Shiplake Railway Bridge carries the Henley Branch Line to Henley-on-Thames, England across the River Thames, connecting Shiplake in Oxfordshire with Wargrave in Berkshire. It crosses the river just downstream of Shiplake Lock on the reach abov ...

(rail)

Henley Bridge Henley Bridge is a road bridge built in 1786 at Henley-on-Thames over the River Thames, between Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The bridge has five elliptical stone arches, and links Hart Street in Henley with White Hill (designated the A4130) lead ...

(road), bridge = Sonning Backwater Bridges
Grid reference: {{gbm4ibx, SU753758 Bridges in Oxfordshire Bridges completed in 1986 Bridges across the River Thames Backwater Bridges

Main channel crossed

Theatre (mill island)

Bankside hotel

History

See also

References