Goring and Streatley Bridge

Goring and Streatley Bridge)
Goring and Streatley Bridge on the Goring side from Goring Lock
Coordinates51°31′22.5″N 1°08′33″W / 51.522917°N 1.14250°W / 51.522917; -1.14250
CarriesB4009, Thames Path
CrossesRiver Thames
LocaleGoring-on-Thames
Streatley
Characteristics
MaterialTimber and metal
Height16 feet 11 inches (5.16 m)[1]
History
Opened1923
Location
Map

Goring and Streatley Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England. The bridge links the twin villages of Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, and Streatley, Berkshire, and is adjacent to Goring Lock.

The present bridge was built in 1923, and is in two parts: The western bridge is from Streatley to an island in the river (overlooking The Swan hotel, once owned by Danny La Rue); The eastern bridge is from the island to Goring and overlooks Goring Lock. The bridge consists of timber struts supporting a metal roadway.

Both the Thames Path and The Ridgeway cross the Thames on this bridge.

A bridge was first built here in 1837 being a flat timber bridge of beams on posts. Prior to this there was a ferry although occasionally people would ride across, even driving in a one-horse chaise. In 1674 the ferry turned over in the weir pool with the loss of sixty lives.[2] In the 1970s a Citroën Dyane crashed through the railings at the Streatley end of the bridge landing on a concrete weir 16 feet below. The local Citroën dealer used the photo to illustrate the inherent strength of their upmarket 2CV.

  1. ^ River Thames Alliance. Bridge heights on the River Thames.
  2. ^ Fred. S. Thacker The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles