Staines Bridge - Staines-upon-Thames, UK
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denben
N 51° 26.011 W 000° 30.987
30U E 672628 N 5700961
Staines Bridge is a road bridge linking Staines-upon-Thames in the Spelthorne Borough and Egham in the Runnymede Borough. It is on the modern A308 road and runs in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey.
Waymark Code: WMK6XG
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/21/2014
Views: 8
In Roman times, Staines-upon-Thames lay on an important Roman road connecting London with Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). The Roman name for Staines was "Pontes" (plural bridges) implying that there was more than one bridge and it is believed that these bridges traversed Church Island.
A wooden bridge was referenced as early as 1228, and required regular repair. It was put out of use during the Civil War. Under an act of 1791, a stone bridge was built a little way downstream of the old one, the latter being retained. The central arch of this bridge cracked almost immediately and a third bridge of iron was completed in 1803. This failed and a fourth bridge, also of iron was opened in 1807. The old wooden bridge, which had continued in service, was then pulled down. The fifth and present bridge with three arches in white granite was designed by George Rennie. Construction started in 1827, and it was opened in 1832.
From the 1940s until the 1970s this was a hotspot for summer holiday traffic jams due to many motorists heading from London towards the south-west. When the M3 and later the M25 bridges were constructed, the traffic was diverted away from the town.
The coordinates were taken from the pedestrian sidewalk on the Staines side of the bridge. I crossed the bridge to visit the Coal Tax Post #86 waymark (WM9RH3) in Egham, Surrey, while on a long stopover at the nearby Heathrow airport.
Source: Wikipedia (
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