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Twickenham Bridge

Bridges across the River ThamesBridges completed in 1933Bridges in LondonGrade II* listed bridges in LondonGrade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Road bridges in EnglandTransport in the London Borough of Richmond upon ThamesUse British English from August 2017
Twickenham Bridge 320r1
Twickenham Bridge 320r1

Twickenham Bridge crosses the River Thames in southwest London, England. Built in 1933 as part of the newly constructed "Chertsey Arterial Road", the bridge connects the Old Deer Park district of Richmond (historically Surrey) on the south bank of the river to St. Margarets (historically Middlesex) on the north bank, both within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Twickenham Bridge gets its name from the fact that it is on the road to the town of Twickenham (also in the same London borough), which is approximately 3 km upstream from Twickenham Bridge, past Richmond Bridge. Given the bridge's unique position on the river, St Margarets is actually at the southwestern end of the bridge, despite being on the north bank, while Richmond, south of the Thames, is at the northeastern end of the bridge. The bridge forms part of today's A316 (Chertsey Road), which links Central and West London with the M3 motorway at Sunbury-on-Thames. The bridge's architect was Maxwell Ayrton and the head engineer was Alfred Dryland. The proposed design of the bridge envisaged four 70 foot towers to be constructed on the riverbanks with retaining walls of 20 feet above road level. The plans were widely opposed and a local petition was organised by The Daily Telegraph against the design on the grounds that it was inappropriate to the setting in Richmond. The final design of the bridge was of three reinforced-concrete arches supported on concrete piers with Art Deco embellishments. The bridge incorporates three permanent hinges enabling the structure to adjust to changes in temperature, the first reinforced concrete bridge structure in the UK to use such an innovation. The arch springings, as well as the arch crowns, have decorative bronze cover plates. Ribbed shuttering was used in the casting of the concrete piers and abutments, giving the main faces a ribbed finish that was then knocked back. The approach viaduct and retaining walls were constructed in precast blocks that were wire brushed to create a rough finish. The balustrades and lamps were constructed of open bronzework. The Bromsgrove Guild was employed in casting and fitting the bronze lamp standards and parapets as well as the railings on the four staircases between road level and the river bank The bridge was opened on 3 July 1933 by Edward, Prince of Wales. In 1992, the first Gatso speed camera in the United Kingdom was launched on Twickenham Bridge.The bridge was declared a Grade II* listed structure in 2008, providing protection to preserve its special character from unsympathetic development.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Twickenham Bridge (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Twickenham Bridge
Twickenham Bridge, London St Margarets (London Borough of Richmond upon Thames)

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N 51.460555555556 ° E -0.31444444444444 °
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Twickenham Bridge

Twickenham Bridge
TW1 1SD London, St Margarets (London Borough of Richmond upon Thames)
England, United Kingdom
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Twickenham Bridge 320r1
Twickenham Bridge 320r1
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Richmond Railway Bridge
Richmond Railway Bridge

Richmond Railway Bridge in Richmond, south-west London, crosses the River Thames immediately upstream of Twickenham Bridge. It carries National Rail services operated by South Western Railway (SWR) on the Waterloo to Reading Line, and lies between Richmond and St. Margarets stations. The bridge was amongst the first railway crossings of the Thames.The first Richmond Railway Bridge was built by the contractor Thomas Brassey and designed by the civil engineers Joseph Locke and J. E. Errington on behalf of the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR). Opened during 1848, it was originally known as the Richmond Windsor and Staines Railway Bridge. Due to concerns over the bridge's use of cast iron in its construction, it was rebuilt during the 1900s, the principal change being the substitution of iron elements for steel counterparts. This second bridge, which heavily reused elements of the original, was designed by the L&SWR's then-chief engineer, J. W. Jacomb-Hood, and constructed by the Horseley Bridge Company between 1906 and 1908. The second bridge is visually similar to the earlier structure, retaining much of its aesthetics and original features despite subsequent refurbishment and maintenance programmes, including the replacement of its decking and girders during the 1980s. Since 2008, both the bridge itself and its brick approach viaduct have been Grade II listed structures, protecting them from unsympathetic alterations.

Richmond Palace
Richmond Palace

Richmond Palace was a royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminster, which was located nine miles (14 km) to the north-east. It was erected in about 1501 by Henry VII of England, formerly known as the Earl of Richmond, in honour of which the manor of Sheen had recently been renamed "Richmond". Richmond Palace therefore replaced Shene Palace, the latter palace being itself built on the site of an earlier manor house which had been appropriated by Edward I in 1299 and which was subsequently used by his next three direct descendants before it fell into disrepair. In 1500, a year before the construction of the new Richmond Palace began, the name of the town of Sheen, which had grown up around the royal manor, was changed to "Richmond" by command of Henry VII. However, both names, Sheen and Richmond, continue to be used, not without scope for confusion. Curiously, today's districts of East Sheen and North Sheen, now under the administrative control of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, were never in ancient times within the manor of Sheen, but were rather developed during the 19th and 20th centuries in parts of the adjoining manor and parish of Mortlake. Richmond remained part of the County of Surrey until the mid-1960s, when it was absorbed by the expansion of Greater London. Richmond Palace was a favourite home of Queen Elizabeth I, who died there in 1603. It remained a residence of the kings and queens of England until the death of Charles I of England in 1649. Within months of his execution, the Palace was surveyed by order of the Parliament of England and was sold for £13,000. Over the following ten years it was largely demolished, the stones and timbers being re-used as building materials elsewhere. Only vestigial traces now survive, notably the Gate House. (51°27'41"N 0°18'33"W). The site of the former palace is the area between Richmond Green and the River Thames, and some local street names provide clues to existence of the former Palace, including Old Palace Lane and Old Palace Yard.

Corporation Island
Corporation Island

Corporation Island is a small island on the River Thames in London. The island is between Richmond Bridge and Richmond Railway Bridge, where it forms part of the celebrated view from the Richmond waterfront. Its name seems to derive from its owners, the Corporation of Richmond, now the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is uninhabited and heavily wooded, and was formerly known as Richmond Ait.The unpopulated Corporation Island is densely wooded with white willow, crack willow and weeping willow as well as hybrid black poplar. These were planted in the 1960s after Richmond Borough Council felled the London plane trees which had grown there. The island may have changed its shape due to alterations of the tidal flows in the Thames following the construction of the New London Bridge in 1829 followed by that of the Richmond half-tide lock.Corporation Island is home to a heronry, a nesting colony of grey heron, which had 12 active nests in 2016. Just downstream from Corporation Island are the last islands on the Surrey stretch of the Thames, the Flowerpot Islands, which are two nearly circular islands covered in willows which were a single island until they were divided into two on the orders of the Duke of Queensbury in 1796. Subsequently, tidal erosion has reduced them to the two tiny islets, or eyots, currently visible.One of the last photographs of The Beatles together was taken in 1969 of the band sitting on Corporation Island. There now is no public access to the island.

Sandycombe Lodge
Sandycombe Lodge

Sandycombe Lodge is a Grade II* listed house at 40 Sandycoombe Road, Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In the picturesque-cottage style, it was designed and built in 1813 by the artist J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851) as his country retreat and as a home for his father William (1745–1829). Turner lived there from 1814 to 1826. Originally known as Solus Lodge, it is the only surviving building designed by Turner, and shows the influence of his friend Sir John Soane. The appearance of the house had been much altered by the addition of second floors to the original side wings.When it was built, Twickenham was rural, as can be seen in the engraving Sandycombe Lodge, Twickenham, Villa of J. M. W. Turner (1814) that was engraved by W. B. Cooke after William Havell and is now held at Tate Britain.Since the sale of Sandycombe Lodge in 1826 by Turner, it has had several owners. The house was used as a factory to produce airmen's uniforms during the Second World War. The vibrations from the heavy machinery caused damage to the staircase and ceilings of the house. The house was bought by Professor Harold Livermore and his wife Ann in 1947, and they created the Sandycombe Lodge Trust (now Turner's House Trust) in 2005. After Livermore's death in 2010, the house was left to the Trust to be preserved as a monument to Turner.Many of the house's original features survived, but it needed major restoration work and redecoration. Turner's House Trust sought to raise funds to restore the house, remove Victorian additions and return it to its appearance in Turner's day. In January 2015 it was announced that the Trust was to receive a grant of £1.4 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable this work to take place. The year-long renovation, costing £2.4 million, started in March 2016. The restoration of Turner's House is now complete and the house is open to the public; visitors can experience Turner's House as he lived in it, and learn the fascinating stories behind the conservation of this important historic house.