Vol. 19, No. 548.] SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1832. [PRICE 2d.
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[Illustration: STAINES NEW BRIDGE.]
This handsome structure has lately been completed, and was opened on
Easter Monday last, April 24, by their Majesties and the Court passing
over with suitable ceremony. This was a gala day for Staines and its
vicinity; for, independently of the enthusiasm awakened by the visit
of the popular Sovereign, the completion of so useful and ornamental
a fabric must have been an occasion of no ordinary interest to every
inhabitant of the district.
The _programme_, as the French would say, of the day's _fête_ has been
so recently given in the "chronicles of the times," that we need not
repeat it. A few descriptive particulars of the Bridge, from _The
Times_ Journal, may be found to possess a more permanent value:--
"It consists of three very flat segmental arches of granite. The
middle arch of 74 feet span, and the two side arches of 66 feet
each; besides two side arches of 10 feet each for the
towing-paths, and six brick arches of 20 feet span each, two on
the Surrey side, and four on the Middlesex side, to allow the
floods to pass off. The whole is surmounted by a plain, bold
cornice, and block parapet of granite, with pedestal for the
lamps, and a neat toll-house. The approaches to the Bridge on
either side form gentle curves of easy ascent. The cost of the
Bridge and approaches has been about 41,000l. The appearance of
the whole is very light and elegant. This is owing chiefly to
the slight dimensions of the piers, which are smaller in
proportion to the span of the arches they support than those of
any other bridge in England; but this slight appearance does
not, we understand, detract in any degree from their strength,
or from the durability of the superincumbent structure."
From the same authority we gather this circumstantial account of the
Bridges erected at Staines from the year 1262:
"The first erection mentioned in the archives of Staines, was a
wooden bridge, said to have been erected in the year 1262; it
was constructed of piles of oak driven into the bed of the river
and covered with planks. We hear of no new erection from that
period down to the year 1794; but from that year to the present,
there have been not less than four new bridges in succession,
and on nearly the same site. In the year 1794 and 1795, a new
bridge, of three semicircular arches of stone, from the design
of the celebrated Paul Sandby, was erected, but, from some
defect in its construction, it lasted only five years, when it
was replaced by a very elegant bridge of one arch, of 180 feet
span, of cast iron, from the design of Mr. Thomas Wilson, the
architect of the celebrated bridge over the river Weir, at
Sunderland. The design was attributed to the noted author of the
_Rights of Man_; but the arch designed by him was cast in the
year 1790, by Messrs. Walkers, at Rotherham, whence it was
brought to London, and erected at the bowling-green of the
Yorkshire Stingo public-house, where it was exhibited to the
public; Paine not being able to defray the expense, the arch was
taken down and carried back to Rotherham; part of it was
afterwards used in the Sunderland bridge, and part, it is
supposed, in the Staines bridge. This last, like its immediate
predecessor, was not destined to last long, for it had scarcely
been opened one month, when it was found necessary to close it
to the public, the arch having sunk in a very alarming degree.
His late Majesty King George the Third was said to have been
among the last to pass over it. In this emergency the late Mr.
Rennie was consulted, who pronounced the bridge altogether
dangerous, in consequence of the weakness of the abutments. No
alternative remained but to remove the iron bridge entirely, and
patch up the old wooden bridge until a new one of wood was
built. That bridge, which is the present old bridge, continued
to stand, with various repairs and alterations, until the year
1828, when, in consequence of the decay of the piles, and the
continual heavy expenses required to uphold it, the
Commissioners determined to build a new one of more durable
materials. Messrs. Rennie were therefore applied to for designs,
and a bill was brought into Parliament to authorize the
Commissioners to raise funds. The works were commenced in the
spring of 1829, and on the 14th of September following the first
stone was laid by their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of
Clarence (their present Majesties). Since then, the works have
been carried on to their present completion under the direction
of Mr. G. Rennie and Mr. Brown, the superintendents, and Messrs.
Jolliffe and Banks, the contractors."
The Engraving is from a Sketch by our obliging Windsor Correspondent:
it was taken from the old bridge, whence the spectator enjoys a
delightful view of Windsor Castle, through the centre arch of the new
fabric.
By the way, we noticed the project of this new stone bridge, in
connexion with our Engraving of the new church at Staines, in vol.
xii. of _The Mirror_, August 30, 1828.
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