High Bridge, sometimes known as Duke Street Bridge, is a bridge across the River Kennet in the town centre of Reading in the English county of

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 ...

. It links Duke Street, to its north, and London Street, to its south. High Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge across the Kennet, and is both a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

and a grade II listed building. It comprises a single

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

of vermiculated Portland stone, with a plain keystone of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

. The bridge forms the downstream limit of the Brewery Gut, a particularly narrow stretch of the river, and, situated as it is on a blind bend on the river, itself provides a challenge for navigation. For this reason, navigation under the bridge and through the Brewery Gut is controlled by a set of traffic lights on a one-way basis.

History

The first bridge in Reading to be built over the Kennet was located at Seven Bridges, in the oldest, Saxon, part of the town. The bridging point now occupied by the High Bridge was probably the second to be used, providing, as it did, a more convenient access to Reading Abbey (founded in 1121) and its environs. Certainly there was a bridge on the site by the time of John Speed's map of 1611, and in 1707 a new wooden bridge was constructed on the site. By 1788, the timber-framed bridge of 1707 required replacement, and a stone bridge able to handle wagon traffic generated by the textile industry was commissioned. Initially commissioned from architect Robert Furze Brettingham the Corporation rejected his design and went for a single arch bridge in consultation with "Mr Soane". it was built at a cost of £3,500. For much of its life, the current bridge formed the downstream limit of the stretch of the River Kennet dominated by the presence of Simonds Brewery. Since 1999, it has fulfilled the same role with respect to the riverside precinct of the Oracle shopping centre, which has replaced the brewery, along with the

Reading Buses Reading Transport Limited, trading as Reading Buses, is an English Municipal bus company, municipal bus operator owned by Reading Borough Council, serving the towns of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, Slough, ...

depot on the opposite bank, with riverside restaurants and other leisure facilities. In 2024 the bridge underwent repairs, including work to restore the parapets, which had deteriorated.

References

External links

{{Kennet and Avon Canal Bridges in Reading, Berkshire Bridges completed in 1787 Kennet and Avon Canal Grade II listed bridges Grade II listed buildings in Reading 1787 establishments in England