Hampton Court Bridge

51.403888888889 - 0.3425Koordinaten: 51 ° 24 ' 14 " N, 0 ° 20' 33 " W

F1

Main road A309

Thames

The Hampton Court Bridge is a road bridge over the River Thames in London. It is the westernmost Thames bridge in the city and is located near the mouth of the River Mole River and was the first reinforced concrete bridge over the River Thames.

The bridge connects the district Elmbridge in Surrey with the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It performs the main road A309. It provides a direct connection between the Hampton Court station on the south side as well as the Hampton Court Palace and Bushy Park on the north side.

History

First bridge

Since Tudor times was at this point a ferry. A 1750 law enacted by Act of Parliament allowed James Clarke, the operator of the ferry, the creation of a toll bridge. The construction of the wooden bridge began in 1752, the opening was on 13 December 1753. The bridge toll for pedestrians was a halfpenny for a sechsspänniges wagon two shillings and six pence.

Built by Samuel Stevens and Benjamin Ludgator 150 -meter bridge had seven arches and was six feet wide. The pillars were made of wooden boxes filled with stones. The peculiar construction of the bridge seemed fragile. The road followed the structure of the arches, was otherwise known only from Chinese bridges. After twenty-five years, the bridge was so dilapidated that it had to be demolished in 1788 and replaced by a new building.

Second bridge

The second bridge at the same location was built in 1788 by a Mr. White from Weybridge. The ten - jochige wooden bridge was slightly shorter than its predecessor and only 5.4 meters wide by 105 meters long. The cost was £ 7,000. The bridge was so robust that it could be used at least a hundred years before it fell into disrepair as well, so Parliament demanded a new building.

Third bridge

In May 1864, demolition of the existing bridge began to make room for the third bridge. She was E.T. Murray has been constructed and was opened to traffic on 10 April 1865. The bridge consisted of a wrought iron five -span girder resting upon four pairs octagonal cast iron columns. The roadway was 6 meters wide and had a 1.5 wide sidewalk on the west side. The cost was £ 11,176.

Second bridge from 1788

Third bridge by 1865

Today's bridge

At the beginning of the 20th century, the third bridge already no longer enough for the grown volume of traffic. 1928 received the administrations of Middlesex and Surrey County the authorization by Parliament to cancel the third bridge and the construction of the current fourth bridge with the necessary access roads. Construction began in 1930 and included the demolition of a hotel, the diversion of the River Mole, including filling of the old river bed, and the construction of a new access road from the south, which created a direct connection to the bypass of Kingston.

The new designed by WP Robinson and Edwin Lutyens arch bridge was the first reinforced concrete bridge over the River Thames. The mean of the three arches has a span of 32 meters, the outer two such of 27.5 meters. The roadway is 12 feet wide, the two sidewalks each 4.6 meters. Thus, the sidewalks of the new bridge are almost as wide as the carriageway of the old bridge. The building was faced with red brick and Portland stone.

The bridge was handed over on 9 April 1933, a small celebration of the local population to traffic, the official opening was held by the then Prince of Wales, the later King Edward VIII on July 3, 1933.