Turnpikes and Toll Bridges
Abingdon Bridge
Whilst not falling within the intended scope of these pages it is nevertheless worth taking a quick look at Abingdon Bridge which carries the road from the town across the Thames towards Culham, and so leads naturally on to the Dorchester turnpike.
Map published by Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton in 1912
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Click or tap to see a larger image on the Britain from Above website
Aerial view taken in September 1920
Aerofilms Collection EPW000888, courtesy of Britain from Above
Map published by Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton in 1912
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland
Click or tap to see a larger image on the Britain from Above website
Aerial view taken in September 1920
Aerofilms Collection EPW000888, courtesy of Britain from Above
Although treated as being one, Abingdon Bridge is essentially a continuous series of no less than three bridges, each having its own long history which we will briefly touch on here. Taken as a whole, Abingdon Bridge saw many changes and alterations over the years. Upkeep of the bridge fell to the local charity of Christ's Hospital in 1547, and remained with them until relieved of the duty in 1927. It was widened in stages from a single carriageway and the section from Nag's Head Island to the Culham bank was replaced by a temporary wooden bridge after being declared unsafe and suddenly closed in 1925. Major rebuilding started in June 1927 with the Oxfordshire and Berkshire County Councils assuming joint responsibility for the bridge. No toll was ever charged to cross the bridge.
Since the map was published in 1912 changes have been made to the river, amongst which the low reed covered island has disappeared with the area now forming a wide pool. Until the major changes in county boundaries in 1974 when Abingdon and surrounding area became part of Oxfordshire, Abingdon was part of Berkshire with Culham (as now) in Oxfordshire with the county boundary following the Thames.
Leaving Abingdon town centre behind and descending along Bridge Street the River Thames lies ahead.
Courtesy of John Eade
Hart (or Town) Bridge
Labelled on the map above as Abingdon Bridge, the first bridge in the series is known as Town Bridge, or historically, Hart Bridge taking its name from the ancient White Hart Inn which once stood on the site of the Old Goal on the town bank of the river. It was begun in 1416 as a local initiative to replace a long established ferry across the river linking the town bank to Nag's Head Island. The bridge was opened in 1422. The island was named after the Nag's Head Inn which was built sometime during the 1700s and became a listed building as far back as 1951. At this point a millstream, cut by the monks of Abingdon Abbey under the direction of Abbott Aethelwold in middle of the 10th century, rejoins the main river and the culverted River Stert emerges nearby, so the crossing is quite wide, and although normally shallow, it could be very dangerous to cross if the river was swollen. To the side of the bridge, between the mill stream and the Thames, is the site of Abingdon's first gasworksClick or tap to reveal our hidden page about Abingdon's gasworks. Coal would have been brought by barge, but when the short branch line arrived from Radley, the gasworks moved to be adjacent to the station.
This engraving from 1811 is looking towards the town with Nag's Head Island to the left and shows the spire belonging to St.Helen's Church and the Old Goal which is the very large building towards the right.
Burford Bridge
The next bridge in sequence is Burford Bridge which was also opened in 1422. It is nothing to do with the town of Burford, but its name is apparently a corruption of 'Borough Ford'. The bridge crosses what is now the navigation channel of the river with a majestic arch with a smaller arch to one side for the towing path to pass through, and links Nag's Head Island with the far bank. Navigation of larger vessels past Abingdon was always a bit problematical and steps were taken over the centuries to try and improve the situation. Efforts to provide a greater depth of water under the bridge led eventualy to its foundations being undermined, the discovery of which led to the sudden closure in 1925 and subsequent major rebuilding project.
This view is from the opposite direction to the engraving above, so again has Nag's Head Island to the left, and now the Culham river bank to the right. The towing path arch can be seen on the right and the buildings above, which are on the other side of the road, are those associated with the next bridge. The Nag's Head Inn is the range of buildings which can be seen on the left. Originally the inn occupied the largest of the buildings, and was Grade II listed in January 1952, with the taller building to the right, itself Grade II listed in December 1971, being at one time Salters Café otherwise known as Abingdon Bridge Restaurant. They are linked by a 'modern' brick section and together now form the redeveloped Nag's Head public house.
Maud Hale's Bridge
The final bridge isn't really a bridge as such, but is more of a stone causeway with three flood relief arches which crosses the first bit of flood plain on the Culham bank. It is named after Maud Hales, the widow of an Abingdon mercer, who funded this southerly extension of Burford Bridge in 1429 adding the three arches, and although rebuilt in 1929 as part of the bridgeworks it still retains her name.
The first of the cottages which stand by the side of this bridge did not appear until the 1650s, the land formerly being a garden. About a century later another house was built followed by a row of houses in the 1830s and towards the end of that century a pair of semi-detached houses was built in front of the second house which they incorporated. A stone plaque on the pair of houses at the southern end (towards the right of the photo) reads 'Maud Hales Terrace 1753', however it is not thought that the terrace had this name in the eighteenth century, and the houses upon which it is placed were not built until the following century.
In times of flood these houses can be surrounded by water
River Thames in flood under Maud Hale's Bridge
December 2020
, with the Thames on one side and water passing through the low arches on the other.
