Did you know that there are more than 200 bridges over the River Thames?
We tend to only think of the big ones in central London, but the mighty Thames has many other spans upstream. In his book, Thames Bridges, David C Ramzan explores all 200 of them, delving into their remarkable histories.
For a bit of fun, David has set a little puzzle below. Can you name all seven of these lesser-known Thames bridges? Five fall within the Greater London area and two are in the Home Counties. Answers below.
Bridge quiz
1. The wrought-iron, three-span bow-string girder railway bridge below was named after a Thames riverside settlement, which was first recorded in the Domesday Book with a name like the Swiss capital.
2. On the south bank near this reinforced concrete three arch built bridge, you will find a stone marking one end of the course of the annual Boat Races between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
3. Originally named King Edward VII Bridge, this granite-built river crossing replaced an earlier toll bridge, its gate taken down by the local people and paraded around the adjacent green after tolls were abolished in 1873.
4. Made up of three reinforced-concrete arches, supported on concrete river piers, the bridge was designed by the architect Maxwell Ayrton, who also worked on the design of the old Wembley Stadium.
5. The five-arch bridge, constructed in Portland Stone, was built close to the site where kings were once seated on a great stone during their coronation.
6. When this bridge was erected in the late 1700s, through a design miscalculation, the Purbeck Stone seven-arch crossing failed to reach the Surrey bank, and the county was required to pay the extra costs to complete an extension.
7. Delayed in its building by the second world war, and then by the death of its architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, the single span bridge, supported by 18 encased steel arches, was eventually opened to traffic in 1960, downstream from where King John placed his seal on the Magna Carta.
Answers
1. Barnes Railway Bridge
2. Chiswick Road Bridge
3. Kew Road Bridge
4. Twickenham Road Bridge
5. Kingston Road Bridge
6. Chertsey Road Bridge
7. Runnymede Road Bridge
To learn more about the Thames bridges, from those near the source down to the QEII bridge at Dartford, get hold of Thames Bridges by David C Ramzan, published by Amberley. Buy direct from the publisher, on Amazon or via your local bookshop.
