Caversham Bridge is a bridge across the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 between Caversham

Caversham, Berkshire

Caversham is a suburb and former village in the unitary authority of Reading, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, within the royal county of Berkshire, on the opposite bank from the rest of Reading...

 and the town centre of Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

. The bridge is situated on the reach above Caversham Lock

Caversham Lock

Caversham Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England at Reading, Berkshire. The lock is connected to De Bohun Island, a somewhat larger than normal lock island...

, carrying the A4155 road

A4155 road

The A4155 is a road in the United Kingdom that starts at Bourne End in Buckinghamshire and leads westwards by way of Little Marlow, Marlow, Medmenham, Henley-on-Thames, Lower Shiplake and Caversham to terminate at Reading in Berkshire...

 across the river and also providing pedestrian access to the adjacent mid-river Pipers Island

Pipers Island

Pipers Island is a small island in the English River Thames, on the reach above Caversham Lock. It is located close to the centre of the town of Reading and immediately adjacent to Caversham Bridge, a road bridge that links that town to its suburb of Caversham.Pipers Island is entirely occupied by...

.

The first bridge on the site was built sometime between 1163, when a famous trial by combat

Trial by combat

Trial by combat was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession, in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the fight was proclaimed to be right. In essence, it is a judicially sanctioned duel...

 was fought on nearby De Montfort Island

Fry's Island

Fry's Island, also known as De Montfort Island, is an island in the River Thames in England. The island is on the reach above Caversham Lock at Reading, Berkshire. The centre of Reading is to the south and the suburb of Caversham to the immediate north.Fry's Island is a natural island, the only...

, and 1231, when Henry III

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

 wrote to the Sheriff of Oxfordshire, commanding him:

"to go in person, taking with him good and lawful men of his county, to the chapel of St Anne on the bridge at Reading over the Thames one side of which is built on the fee of William Earl Marshal and by the view and testimony of those men see that the abbot has the same seisin of the said chapel as he had on the day the said earl died."

William Marshal

William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke

Sir William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke , also called William the Marshal , was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He was described as the "greatest knight that ever lived" by Stephen Langton...

 was the first Earl of Pembroke

Earl of Pembroke

Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...

, the principal landowner in the Caversham area, and regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

 during the early years of Henry's reign. He had died at his home at Caversham Park

Caversham Park

Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:...

 in 1218.
The old bridge was the site of a skirmish during the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 in 1643 and was left with a wooden drawbridge structure on the Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

 half. In 1869 the whole bridge was replaced by an iron lattice construction. When Reading Bridge

Reading Bridge

Reading Bridge is a road bridge over the River Thames at Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The bridge links the centre of Reading on the south bank with the Lower Caversham area of the cross-river suburb, and former village, of Caversham on the north bank...

 was completed in 1923 work began on replacing Caversham Bridge with the current structure which is of concrete with a granite ballustrade. It was opened in 1926 by Edward Prince of Wales

Edward VIII of the United Kingdom

Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...

.

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