Newbridge, River Thames
| New Bridge | |
|---|---|
New Bridge (from the south bank of the Thames)
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| Coordinates | 51°42′36″N 01°25′02″W / 51.71000°N 1.41722°WCoordinates: 51°42′36″N 01°25′02″W / 51.71000°N 1.41722°W |
| Carries | A415 road |
| Crosses | River Thames |
| Locale | Oxfordshire |
| Maintained by | Oxfordshire County Council |
| Heritage status | Grade I & II* listed |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | arch |
| Material | stone |
| Height | 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m) |
| No. of spans | 12 |
| Piers in water | 5 |
| Load limit | 18 tonnes (18 long tons; 20 short tons) |
New Bridge is a 13th-century bridge carrying the A415 road over the River Thames in Oxfordshire, between Abingdon and Witney, close to the Thames' confluence with the River Windrush. It is one of the two oldest surviving bridges across the Thames, part Grade I and part Grade II*-listed.
The bridge is in a rural setting, with a public house at either end: the Maybush Eco Inn on the south bank and the Rose Revived on the other.
The bridge consists of two spans, where the northern span crosses the river and the southern span, south of the Maybush, is dry underneath except when the river floods.
The bridge dates from the 13th century and is built of Taynton stone in the same way as Radcot Bridge, which is slightly older. They were built by monks on the orders of King John in order to improve communications between the wool towns in the south of England, and the Cotswold farms, and named "New Bridge" as it was the youngest out of the three bridges built at the time (the third being the Lechlade bridge, replaced in the 19th century). It was also very much longer than it is now, with 51 arches and being 726 yards (664 m) long, compared with the current 12 arches.
Whether New Bridge or Radcot Bridge is the oldest bridge today across the Thames is debatable — Radcot Bridge is older however it was extensively damaged during the Wars of the Roses and had to be greatly rebuilt, furthermore since local reroutings in 1787 Radcot Bridge no longer crosses the main channel of the river.
In 1644, in the English Civil War, the Battle of Newbridge was fought on the banks of the river. Parliamentarian William Waller attempted to cross in order to surround Oxford and capture King Charles, but was defeated.
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