Histories and Antiquities of Kingston-upon-Thames, A Anderson, 1821 -
This Bridge is undoubtedly the oldest on the river Thames except London Bridge.
It is mentioned in a record of the Eighth year of Henry III.
This Bridge being almost the only passage over the Thames, was frequently liable to be destroyed,
during the time of any intestine commotions, to cut off the communication between Surrey and Middlesex.
This is known to have happened in the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster,
and in Wyatts rebellion, when it was broken down by order of the privy council, to prevent his passing into Middlesex.
The Bridge in its present state is an ordinary structure of Timbers so inartificially put together,
as would warrant us in pronouncing that, whatever changes it hath undergone in it's materials, from frequent repairs,
there hath been no deviation from the plan on which it was originally built.
The supporters, which are more than twenty in number, on each side, occupy the space of an hundred and twenty-six yards,
exclusive of about forty yards of masonry employed at both ends.
On the 9th of August, 7 Hen. III, the bad state hereof being represented to the King, he committed the custody of it,
and the inspection of it's repairs in future, to Henry de St. Alban and Matthew Fitz-Geffery de Kingston;
with a special precept directed to the Bailiffs of the Town, and the Sheriff of the County,
to furnish them completely with all such materials as from time to time should be necessary.
In the year following, the King issued his writ to the Sheriff to give seisin to the said Matthew de Kingston of the house belonging to the Bridge,
with the Charters and other Muniments respecting the same.
John Lovekyn, who died 4 Aug. 42 Edw. III. 1368, left 10/- for repairing the Butting of the Bridge.
In 50 Edw. III. that Prince, by letters patent dated 30 April, vested the custody of the Bridge and Causeway, gone to ruin and decay,
in the Bailiffs of the Town for the term of fifty-one years, with a power to Hugh Taverner and John Waigne (the Bailiffs probably of that year)
and their successors, of taking certain Tolls for ten years from the date thereof.
In 27 Hen. VI. the king, in consideration of the ruinous and dilipidated state of the Bridge at that time,
and of the Causeway thereof, granted to the Bailiffs and approved men of Kingston, and to their successors,
the custody of the said Bridge and Causeway for the further term of fifty-one years;
with his royal licence dated 2 Feb. 1448-9, to take a certain Toll of all goods passing by and under the said Bridge to the said Town, for Sale.
In 7 Eliz. 1565, Robert Hammond, one of the Bailiffs of the Town, settled lands to the value of 40/. per annum for the future support of the Bridge,
and for exempting it from tolls; in remembrance of which the following distich was
inscribed on a rail about the middle of the bridge:
"1565, Robert Hamond, Gentleman Bailiff of Kingston heretofore, He then made this Bridge toll free for erermore."
But the rails of the bridge having been re-placed, this is not now to be seen.
Instead thereof, on a stone inserted in the brick-work on the north side of the abutment at the west end, is this Inscription:
"Robert Hamond, Gent, sometime Bayliff of this Towne of Kingston, made this Bridge tolle free, November the 15th, 1565."
The year before this gift of Hamond, the revenue of the bridge, including the toll, was about £25 per annum.
In 1374, £53.10s. ... in 1791, £30.
The revenues are in the hands of two bridge-wardens chosen annually.
Aubrey says the length is 168 yards. The Middlesex side was considerably widened about the year 1791.
1170: The Charter Quay archaelogical dig revealed that the island of Kingston
was carefully planned as a "new town" in about 1170.
The Market Place was laid out south of an
existing settlement around All Saints Church, and four bridges were built to
cross the Thames (Kingston Bridge), the Hogsmill (Clattern Bridge), the
Downhall Ditch (Barre Bridge) and an eastern arm of the Hogsmill (Stone
Bridge). Clattern Bridge survives,
albeit widened and strengthened. The other two have long since disappeared.
1224: Kingston Bridge of timber.
1318: the bridge is in dangerous condition
1449: A grant of pontage (right to charge tolls)
granted to the bailiffs and good men of Kingston
for repair of the bridge and causeways.
1539: Leland –
Yn the old tyme the commune saying ys that the bridge, where the commune passage was over the Tamise at olde Kingstone, was lower on the Ryver then it is now. And when men began the new town yn the Saxon Tymes they toke from the very Clive of Come Park Side & builde on the Thamise side: and sette a new bridge hard by the same.
1567: In a MS of 1710 –
The great wooden bridge hath twenty interstices: two in
the middle wide enough for barges. On a
post in the middle of this bridge is this inscription in brass:
‘1567: Robert Hamon, Gentleman, Bayliffe of Kingstone, heretofore hathen made
this Bryge tollfre for evermore’.
Hamon endowed the bridge with £40 annually. It
had 22 Pierres of wood, and in the middle two fair seates for passengers
to avoid carts and to sit and enjoy the delightfull prospect.
1651: The council of state ordered a drawbridge.
The Old Kingston Bridge -
The Old Kingston Bridge
1745: April 27th, The Evening Post reported that at Twickenham Bridge -
Last week a woman that keeps the King's Head alehouse, Kingston, in Surrey, was ordered to be ducked for scolding, and was accordingly placed in the chair and ducked in the river Thames in the presence of two or three thousand people.
In my humble opinion there is only one class of people who deserve ducking more than a scold -
and that is anyone who would want to watch!
1802: Picturesque Views on the Thames, Samuel Ireland -
THE old wooden bridge of Kingston consists of twenty arches ; it was originally supported by a toll, but in 1567 was endowed with lands amounting to forty pounds per annum, for the repairs, &c. from which time the toll has been taken off.
Kingston Bridge 1802 Ireland
The history and antiquities of the ancient and royal town of Kingston-upon Thames by William Downing Biden (1852) -
View of Kingston before the destruction of the wooden Bridge -
View of Kingston before the destruction of the wooden Bridge
1802: "A new arch much wanting:
the present navigation arch very dangerous, several barges having been
sunk across the bridge."
1825: A new Kingston Bridge was built
1828: New bridge opened -
It is built of Portland stone, and consists of five elliptical arches, the centre arch being 60 feet span by 19 in height, and the side arches 56 and 52 feet span respectively. The abutments are terminated by towers or bastions, and the whole is surmounted by a cornice and balustrade, with galleries projecting over the pier; which give a bold relief to the general elevation. The length of the bridge is 382 feet by 27 feet in width. It is of chaste Grecian architecture, from the design of Mr. Lapidge, to whose courtesy we are indebted for the original of our engraving. The building contract was undertaken by Mr. Herbert for £26,800 and the extra work has not exceeded £100 a very rare, if not an unprecedented occurrence in either public or private undertakings of this description. The first stone was laid by the Earl of Liverpool, November 7, 1825, and the bridge was opened in due form by her royal highness the Duchess of Clarence, on July 17, 1828.
1830: House of Commons Journal Volume 85 Luno, 8 die Februarii; Anno 11 Georgii IV ti Regis
A Petition of the Bailiffs and Freemen of the town of Kingston-upon-Thames, in the county of Surrey,
was presented, and read;
setting forth, That the Petitioners have, under the sanction of an Act of the sixth year of His present Majesty,
built a Bridge across the river Thames, from the town of Kingston-upon-Thames aforesaid,
to the hamlet of Hampton Wick, in the county of Middlesex;
but, from the inadequacy of the funds granted by the said Act, they have been unable to complete the
whole of the necessary approaches thereto, or to purchase certain houses and buildings requisite to
be taken for forming the same, and which, by the terms of the said Act, they are restricted
from purchasing, unless with the consent of the owners thereof, after the expiration of five years
from the passing of the said Act;
and that the necessity of the present application did not appear until a meeting of the said Bailiffs
and Freemen, as Commissioners of the said Bridge, held on the third day of December last, …
and that from the dangerous and difficult approach to the said bridge, on that side thereof
situate in the county of Surrey, great inconvenience must arise to the inhabitants of the said
counties and to the public at large, if provision be not made for completing the same in the
present Session of Parliament;
and praying, That leave may be given to bring in a Bill for the same.
Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a Bill accordingly:
And that Mr. Charles Pallmer and Mr. Denison do prepare, and bring it in.
1831: Kingston Bridge from the NEW AND COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE COUNTIES OF SURREY & SUSSEX by Thomas Allen (possibly by Nathaniel Whittock –
Kingston Bridge, 1831
1846: a resident of Wick suggested -
the removal of the carts and waggons left under the arch of the bridge, tenanted at night by vagabonds and people of the worst description
1859: Woodcut of Kingston Bridge (Mr & Mrs Hall) –
Kingston Bridge, Mr & Mrs Hall, 1859
1870: Kingston Bridge toll free (see 1567 above! Though I suppose it was technically a different bridge, and it was a few yards away from the old bridge) -
Kingston Bridge Toll Free, 1870
1870: Kingston Bridge, Henry Taunt -
Kingston Bridge, Henry Taunt, 1870
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT00678
1880: William Morris, Putney to Kelmscott -
Rowed on as far as Teddington Lock where Biffens men were dismissed. Eliza [housemaid] left the Ark and went home by train from Hampton Court Station. Hired a man to tow and went on without incident to Kingston. Hove to for tea on the left bank just above Kingston about 7 o'clock. During tea man and pony from Oxford arrived and took the party in tow.
1889: Jerome K Jerome -
The quaint back streets of Kingston, where they came down to the water's edge, looked quite picturesque in the flashing sunlight, the glinting river with its drifting barges, the wooded towpath, the trim-kept villas on the other side, Harris, in a red and orange blazer, grunting away at the sculls, the distant glimpses of the grey old palace of the Tudors, all made a sunny picture, so bright but calm, so full of life, and yet so peaceful, that, early in the day though it was, I felt myself being dreamily lulled off into a musing fit. I mused on Kingston, or "Kyningestun," as it was once called in the days when Saxon "kinges" were crowned there.
Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames names the Kings crowned at Kingston as:
901: Eadweard [ the elder, Ēadweard se Ieldra, son of Alfred the Great ]
923: Adelstan [ Æþelstān the Glorious ]
943: Eadmund [ Edmund I, Eadmund the Deed Doer, Edmund the Magnificent ]
946: Eadred [ Edred ]
955: Eadwig, [ Edwy All Fair ]
975: Eadweard [ II, Edward the Martyr ]
978: Ædelred [ Æþelræd, Ethelred the Unready(ie badly counselled), father of Edward the Confessor ]
[ I, John Eade, feel I owe it to the family to point this out. ]
Great Caesar crossed the river there, and the Roman legions camped upon
its sloping uplands. Caesar, like, in
later years, Elizabeth, seems to have stopped everywhere: only he was more
respectable than good Queen Bess; he didn't put up at the public-houses. .
. . Many of the old houses, round about, speak
very plainly of those days when Kingston was a royal borough, and nobles and
courtiers lived there, near their King, and the long road to the palace gates
was gay all day with clanking steel and prancing palfreys, and rustling silks
and velvets, and fair faces. The large
and spacious houses, with their oriel, latticed windows, their huge fireplaces,
and their gabled roofs, breathe of the days of hose and doublet, of
pearl-embroidered stomachers, and complicated oaths.
They were upraised in the days "when men
knew how to build". The hard red bricks have only grown
more firmly set with time, and their oak stairs do not creak and grunt when you
try to go down them quietly ...
I got out and took the tow-line ...
1890: Kingston Bridge, Francis Frith -
1890: Kingston Bridge, Francis Frith
1896: View from Kingston Bridge, Francis Frith -
1896: View from Kingston Bridge, Francis Frith
1906: G.E.Mitton -
The present Kingston Bridge is very narrow, and its convenience is not increased since a double line of tramways has been laid across it.
1914: Kingston Bridge was widened from 25 to 55 feet between the parapets.
2001: Engineers strengthened the existing bridge
and built a new one alongside in mirror image,
reopened by HRH The Duke of Kent on Friday 29th June.
2003: Kingston Bridge was illuminated -
Kingston Bridge illuminated
This is about celebrating the great things we have in Kingston. Kingston Bridge is a beautiful part of the town and the lighting scheme will show it off at its best, whilst brightening up the river walk for visitors to the bars and restaurants there.
Kingston Bridge, Doug Myers © 2005
The Gazebo
Right bank above Kingston Bridge.
Hogsmill River
right bank
A slipway is marked on the right bank half way between Kingston Bridge and Raven's Ait
Map: Raven's Ait
1906: G.E.Mitton -
On Raven's Ait is the club-house of the Kingston Rowing Club, and beside the water runs a well laid out strip of ground with bushes and seats, and a good stout hedge to keep off the dust from the motor cars which race by on the road - a section of the Ripley Road beloved of scorchers.
The scorchers to beware of today are on the river!
Kingston Rowing Club
Map: Thames Sailing Club
Map: Thames Marina
Right Bank
Upstream to Ditton Slipway
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
//Rose Revived
Newbridge
//Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS