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Hampton Court Bridge
51°24′14″N 0°20′33″W / 51.40389°N 0.34250°W
Hampton Court Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge that crosses the River Thames in England approximately north–south between Hampton, London and East Molesey, Surrey, carrying the A309. It is the upper of two road bridges on the reach above Teddington Lock and downstream of Molesey Lock.
The bridge is the most upstream crossing of all of the Thames bridges of Greater London; uniquely one bank is within the county. The Thames Path crosses the river here.
The location of the bridge had been a ferry crossing point since at least the Tudor period.
In 1750, James Clarke obtained an act of Parliament, the Hampton Court Bridge Act 1749 (23 Geo. 2. c. 37), to construct a privately owned bridge at Hampton Court. The first bridge was constructed by Samuel Stevens and Benjamin Ludgator from 1752 until 1753 and opened on 13 December that year. It had seven wooden arches and was built in the Chinoiserie design of the Willow pattern that was popular at the time, attested by two prints made in the year of its opening and the year after.
This bridge was replaced by a more sturdy eleven-arch wooden bridge in 1778. By 1840 this bridge had become dilapidated and the owner appealed to the Corporation of London to support reconstruction. Among their arguments were that since the bridge was built, the city had created Molesey Lock and Weir and as a consequence navigation through the bridge was dangerous. The bridge was described at about this time as "crazy, hog-backed, inconvenient and obstructive of the navigation".
From 1864 to 1865 construction took place on the third bridge on the site. It opened on 10 April 1865. It was built to a design by E. T. Murray and commissioned by the bridge's owner Thomas Allan. The new bridge consisted of wrought iron lattice girders resting on four cast iron columns. The road approach was between battlemented brick walls. An illustrative fragment of these approach walls remains on the south bank immediately west of the bridge. The design was heavily criticised; it was described simply in 1911 by one historic gazetteer, the Victoria County History as "inartistic". A less diplomatic contemporary commentator called it "one of the ugliest bridges in England, and a flagrant eyesore and disfigurement both to the river and to Hampton Court." Despite the criticism, it proved extremely lucrative for Allen, earning him over £3,000 annually in tolls until he was bought out in 1876 for £48,048 by a joint committee of the Hampton and Molesey local boards and the Corporation of London, using powers granted by the Kew and Other Bridges Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. xix).
The modern bridge is the fourth on the site. The bridge has three wide arches, is designed to be able to carry quite heavy motorised road traffic and is constructed of reinforced concrete, faced with red bricks and white Portland stone on its pontoons, dressings, and balustrades.
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Hampton Court Bridge AI simulator
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Hampton Court Bridge
51°24′14″N 0°20′33″W / 51.40389°N 0.34250°W
Hampton Court Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge that crosses the River Thames in England approximately north–south between Hampton, London and East Molesey, Surrey, carrying the A309. It is the upper of two road bridges on the reach above Teddington Lock and downstream of Molesey Lock.
The bridge is the most upstream crossing of all of the Thames bridges of Greater London; uniquely one bank is within the county. The Thames Path crosses the river here.
The location of the bridge had been a ferry crossing point since at least the Tudor period.
In 1750, James Clarke obtained an act of Parliament, the Hampton Court Bridge Act 1749 (23 Geo. 2. c. 37), to construct a privately owned bridge at Hampton Court. The first bridge was constructed by Samuel Stevens and Benjamin Ludgator from 1752 until 1753 and opened on 13 December that year. It had seven wooden arches and was built in the Chinoiserie design of the Willow pattern that was popular at the time, attested by two prints made in the year of its opening and the year after.
This bridge was replaced by a more sturdy eleven-arch wooden bridge in 1778. By 1840 this bridge had become dilapidated and the owner appealed to the Corporation of London to support reconstruction. Among their arguments were that since the bridge was built, the city had created Molesey Lock and Weir and as a consequence navigation through the bridge was dangerous. The bridge was described at about this time as "crazy, hog-backed, inconvenient and obstructive of the navigation".
From 1864 to 1865 construction took place on the third bridge on the site. It opened on 10 April 1865. It was built to a design by E. T. Murray and commissioned by the bridge's owner Thomas Allan. The new bridge consisted of wrought iron lattice girders resting on four cast iron columns. The road approach was between battlemented brick walls. An illustrative fragment of these approach walls remains on the south bank immediately west of the bridge. The design was heavily criticised; it was described simply in 1911 by one historic gazetteer, the Victoria County History as "inartistic". A less diplomatic contemporary commentator called it "one of the ugliest bridges in England, and a flagrant eyesore and disfigurement both to the river and to Hampton Court." Despite the criticism, it proved extremely lucrative for Allen, earning him over £3,000 annually in tolls until he was bought out in 1876 for £48,048 by a joint committee of the Hampton and Molesey local boards and the Corporation of London, using powers granted by the Kew and Other Bridges Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. xix).
The modern bridge is the fourth on the site. The bridge has three wide arches, is designed to be able to carry quite heavy motorised road traffic and is constructed of reinforced concrete, faced with red bricks and white Portland stone on its pontoons, dressings, and balustrades.