Conway's Bridge
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Conway's Bridge (aka Conway Bridge or the "Ragged Arch") is an ornamental rustic arched stone structure close to 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, s ...
on the estate of Park Place,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
, England. The bridge was designed by
Humphrey Gainsborough Humphrey Gainsborough (1718 – 23 August 1776) was an English non-conformist minister, engineer, and inventor. Read to the Newcomen Society at the Science Museum, London, 12 October 2005. Humphrey Gainsborough was pastor to the Independen ...
, brother of the artist
Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...
, and built in 1763 using stones from the ruins of
Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, ...
. The architect was
Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford (3 March 1737 – 19 January 1793) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 until 1784 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Camelford. He was an art connoisseur. Early life Pit ...
. The bridge is named after
Henry Seymour Conway Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession. He held ...
(1721–1795), a former
Governor of Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gover ...
. Conway's Bridge still carries traffic on the road between
Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many ol ...
and
Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...
. It is
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
. Conway's Bridge is built of " cyclopian" blocks, imitating rocks. It is around 375 meters south of a
grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...
and frames the river from the grotto such that the river seems to be immediately beyond the bridge. In reality, the River Thames is around 50 meters from the structure. Proceeding under the bridge from the grotto, there is access to an ornamental lawn by the river, screened from the road by mature trees. Nearby to the bridge, there is an early 19th-century boathouse on the river.


References


External links


Park Place School – History
Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...
1763 establishments in England Bridges completed in 1763 Bridges in Berkshire Arch bridges in the United Kingdom Stone bridges in England Road bridges in England Grade II listed bridges in England Remenham {{UK-bridge-struct-stub