Datchet Bridge
Encyclopedia
Datchet Bridge, also known as The Divided Bridge, was a road bridge
which crossed the River Thames
at Datchet
from 1706 until it was demolished in 1848. It was situated on the reach between Old Windsor Lock
and Romney Lock
and linked Windsor
on the Berkshire
bank to Datchet on the Buckinghamshire
side. The bridge replaced a ferry service which had operated at the site since at least the middle of the 13th century.
The first Datchet Bridge was a wooden bridge
commissioned by Queen Anne
as the crossing was a convenient back-way to Windsor Castle
. Responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the crossing later passed to the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire over whose boundary the bridge spanned. There followed many decades of dispute between the counties over who should pay for what. This culminated in 1836 with each county deciding to build their own half, in different materials and not touching in the middle. The resulting "crazy erection", Buckinghamshire's side in wood and Berkshire's in iron, known as The Divided Bridge, was demolished in 1848 and is the only case on the Thames where an established bridge crossing site has completely disappeared.
on the north bank of the River Thames has existed as a settlement since before 990 but the first recorded mention of a river crossing is in 1224 when Henry III
gave John le Passir a "great oak" with which to make a boat for "passage of Datchet". In 1278 Edward I
paid for William of Eton to a build a "great barge" for Datchet Ferry. Although the Crown
had provided for the vessels, the right to operate the ferry and collect tolls sat with the Lord of the Manor of Datchet. This continued until 1680 when the then Lord of the Manor
, Colonel Andrew Pitcairn Wheeler, sold the Manor of Datchet to Budd Wase but kept back the ferry rights which he subsequently mortgaged for £1000 (equivalent to £ today). In 1699 Wheeler wrote to William III
complaining that a wall built by the King along the Windsor bank was adversely affecting the ferry trade. To settle the complaint the Crown purchased the ferry rights from Colonel Wheeler for £7000 (equivalent to £ today).
The crossing was important to the Crown as the road through Datchet and across the Thames provided a convenient short route from London to Windsor Castle and the ferry was much used by Royalty and courtiers. Privy Purse
records show two payments from Elizabeth of York
to the Datchet ferryman in 1502 and similarly from Princess Mary
in 1522 and her father Henry VIII
between 1530 and 1532. In Elias Ashmole
's account of the 1520 Procession of the order of the Garter
he describes how Queen Catherine
after watching the procession returned to Windsor Castle from Colnbrook
by way of "the fery [sic] next way to the castle." The ferry however did not always provide a quick and efficient service. In 1678 the ferryman, Matthew Hale, received a formal rebuke from Charles II
's Secretary of State
, Henry Coventry
, for unduly delaying a Royal Messenger. Coventry warned Hale in no uncertain terms:
Despite Coventry's warning Royal dissatisfaction with the inefficient service provided by the Hale Family, who by 1706 had kept the ferry for over 150 years, continued to grow. This culminated in the decision by Queen Anne
to provide a fixed bridge crossing on the site.
between Datchet, Buckinghamshire and Windsor, Berkshire. It was made of oak
provided by the Surveyor General of Woods South of the Trent
, Edward Wilcox, who was ordered to fell "sufficient non-navy timber" from the Royal forest
"for the better convenience of our passage from our Castle at Windsor". The building work was supervised by the Surveyor General
, Samuel Travers and the final cost was £1000 (equivalent to £ today) The better convenience of passage was further enhanced by Queen Anne's intimate friend Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
and her husband the first Duke
who then lived at Langley and who had a carriage drive built from their house, over the bridge and on to Windsor Castle.
Unlike the upstream toll bridges at Windsor
and Maidenhead
, the crossing at Datchet was toll-free for both River and road and quickly became a popular crossing. Seeking compensation for loss of income on their bridges, the corporations of Windsor and Maidenhead
made claims to the Treasury
. In 1708 Windsor was granted an ex-gratia payment of £55 (equivalent to £ today) plus £25 and £20 to two tenants (equivalent to £ and £ respectively). Maidenhead's complaint, not made until 1714, was noted but no compensation paid.
The bridge was initially maintained by the Crown
which paid £800 (equivalent to £ today) for repairs in 1737 and in 1770 replaced the original all-wood structure with a bridge of ten wooden arches on stone piers. By 1794 the bridge was "absolutely dangerous for carriages to pass over it and a stone one [was] now in contemplation." Later the same year the central arches of the new bridge collapsed during heavy flooding and King George III deciding that he did not wish to finance the rebuilding instead instated a temporary free ferry. There followed many years of wrangling between the Crown and the counties of Berkshire
and Buckinghamshire
over who should bear the cost of the building and maintenance of the bridge as the county boundary ran down the centre of the channel of the Thames thus cutting the bridge in half. The matter was forced by the intervention of John Richards, the Rector of Datchet who was also a lawyer; Richards took legal action and the resulting judgement from the King's Bench in 1809 was that the two counties must equally share the rebuilding costs, a total of £2,375 each (equivalent to £ today). The counties, forced to co-operate, built a new wooden bridge on the old stone piers which was opened by Queen Charlotte
and Princess Elizabeth
on 4 December 1812.
of 1847 noted:
Even during the building the counties would not work together and had to be ordered by the Lord Chancellor
to "proceed in such a manner as not to impede each other". Consequently when the bridge was finished the two sides did not touch in the middle with Berkshire's final span being cantilever
ed out from the last Berkshire stone pier thus needing no support from the Buckinghamshire side. The result was an unsatisfactory, ungainly structure, sarcastically noted on opening as having "scarce a bridge upon the River Thames which surpasses it". The centre gap was apparent during the Divided Bridge's whole lifetime and lacking structural integrity the "hideous monstrosity" quickly became unsafe:
The dispute between the counties was resolved once and for all in 1848 when the Windsor Improvement Act 1848 decreed the dismantling of the Divided Bridge and the building of two new road bridges, Victoria Bridge
slightly upstream, and Albert Bridge
slightly downstream. Both new bridges opened in 1851. Once the Divided Bridge was demolished the old Windsor to Datchet road was rerouted over Victoria Bridge and the Berkshire side became part of the private grounds of Windsor Castle
. This is the only case on the entire Thames where a main bridge crossing has completely disappeared.
on the Berkshire bank depicted in many of the contemporary drawings of the bridge was demolished at the same time as the bridge; a Victorian
estate
cottage now stands its place.
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
which crossed 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,...
at Datchet
Datchet
Datchet is an English Thameside village and civil parish situated in the unitary authority of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire. It was transferred to Berkshire from Buckinghamshire in 1974....
from 1706 until it was demolished in 1848. It was situated on the reach between Old Windsor Lock
Old Windsor Lock
Old Windsor Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England close to Old Windsor on the side of the river towards the town. The lock marks the start of the New Cut, built in 1822 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners, which created Ham Island in the hook of the old river...
and Romney Lock
Romney Lock
Romney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Windsor and Eton. It is on the Windsor side of the river next to a boatyard and adjoins Romney Island, a long strip of land in the middle of the river. The first lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1798.The weir is some...
and linked Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
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...
bank to Datchet on the Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
side. The bridge replaced a ferry service which had operated at the site since at least the middle of the 13th century.
The first Datchet Bridge was a wooden bridge
Wooden bridge
A wooden bridge is a bridge that uses wood as a building medium. One of the first forms of bridges, the wooden bridge has been used since ancient times, among them the Holzbrücke Rapperswil-Hurden crossing upper Lake Zürich in Switzerland. The prehistoric timber piles discovered to the west of the...
commissioned by Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
as the crossing was a convenient back-way to Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. Responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the crossing later passed to the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire over whose boundary the bridge spanned. There followed many decades of dispute between the counties over who should pay for what. This culminated in 1836 with each county deciding to build their own half, in different materials and not touching in the middle. The resulting "crazy erection", Buckinghamshire's side in wood and Berkshire's in iron, known as The Divided Bridge, was demolished in 1848 and is the only case on the Thames where an established bridge crossing site has completely disappeared.
Background
DatchetDatchet
Datchet is an English Thameside village and civil parish situated in the unitary authority of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire. It was transferred to Berkshire from Buckinghamshire in 1974....
on the north bank of the River Thames has existed as a settlement since before 990 but the first recorded mention of a river crossing is in 1224 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...
gave John le Passir a "great oak" with which to make a boat for "passage of Datchet". In 1278 Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
paid for William of Eton to a build a "great barge" for Datchet Ferry. Although the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
had provided for the vessels, the right to operate the ferry and collect tolls sat with the Lord of the Manor of Datchet. This continued until 1680 when the then Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
, Colonel Andrew Pitcairn Wheeler, sold the Manor of Datchet to Budd Wase but kept back the ferry rights which he subsequently mortgaged for £1000 (equivalent to £ today). In 1699 Wheeler wrote to William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
complaining that a wall built by the King along the Windsor bank was adversely affecting the ferry trade. To settle the complaint the Crown purchased the ferry rights from Colonel Wheeler for £7000 (equivalent to £ today).
The crossing was important to the Crown as the road through Datchet and across the Thames provided a convenient short route from London to Windsor Castle and the ferry was much used by Royalty and courtiers. Privy Purse
Privy Purse
The Privy Purse is the British Sovereign's remaining private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £13.3 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2009. The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres held in trust for the Sovereign since 1399. It also has...
records show two payments from Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York
Elizabeth of York was Queen consort of England as spouse of King Henry VII from 1486 until 1503, and mother of King Henry VIII of England....
to the Datchet ferryman in 1502 and similarly from Princess Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
in 1522 and her father Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
between 1530 and 1532. In Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole
Elias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...
's account of the 1520 Procession of the order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
he describes how Queen Catherine
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
after watching the procession returned to Windsor Castle from Colnbrook
Colnbrook
Colnbrook is a large village in the unitary authority of Slough, in Berkshire, England. It is situated southeast of central Slough, east of Windsor and west of central London....
by way of "the fery [sic] next way to the castle." The ferry however did not always provide a quick and efficient service. In 1678 the ferryman, Matthew Hale, received a formal rebuke from Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
's Secretary of State
Secretary of State for the Southern Department
The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
, Henry Coventry
Henry Coventry
The Honourable Henry Coventry was an English politician, who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1672 and 1674 and the Southern Department between 1674 and 1680.-Origins and education:...
, for unduly delaying a Royal Messenger. Coventry warned Hale in no uncertain terms:
"You cannot but know it is your duty, whenever any messenger or express rides on the King's Service, to give immediate passage on demand, whether by night or day. Therefore, let me have no more of these complaints, for, if I have, you must hear from me in another matter."
Despite Coventry's warning Royal dissatisfaction with the inefficient service provided by the Hale Family, who by 1706 had kept the ferry for over 150 years, continued to grow. This culminated in the decision by Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
to provide a fixed bridge crossing on the site.
Queen Anne's bridge
In 1706 a wooden bridge was built by order of Queen Anne to replace the ferryFerry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
between Datchet, Buckinghamshire and Windsor, Berkshire. It was made of oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
provided by the Surveyor General of Woods South of the Trent
Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases
The post of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks and Chases was an office under the English Crown, charged with the management of Crown lands...
, Edward Wilcox, who was ordered to fell "sufficient non-navy timber" from the Royal forest
Royal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
"for the better convenience of our passage from our Castle at Windsor". The building work was supervised by the Surveyor General
Surveyor General
The Surveyor General is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Originally this would often have been a military appointment, but is now more likely to be a civilian post....
, Samuel Travers and the final cost was £1000 (equivalent to £ today) The better convenience of passage was further enhanced by Queen Anne's intimate friend Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
and her husband the first Duke
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
who then lived at Langley and who had a carriage drive built from their house, over the bridge and on to Windsor Castle.
Unlike the upstream toll bridges at Windsor
Windsor Bridge
Windsor Bridge or Windsor Town Bridge, is a road bridge over the River Thames between the towns of Windsor and Eton in the English county of Berkshire. It now only carries pedestrian and cycle traffic, and crosses the Thames just above Romney Lock....
and Maidenhead
Maidenhead Bridge
Maidenhead Bridge is a Grade I listed bridge carrying the A4 road over the River Thames between Maidenhead, Berkshire and Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. It crosses the Thames on the reach above Bray Lock, about half a mile below Boulter's Lock.-History:...
, the crossing at Datchet was toll-free for both River and road and quickly became a popular crossing. Seeking compensation for loss of income on their bridges, the corporations of Windsor and Maidenhead
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
made claims to the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
. In 1708 Windsor was granted an ex-gratia payment of £55 (equivalent to £ today) plus £25 and £20 to two tenants (equivalent to £ and £ respectively). Maidenhead's complaint, not made until 1714, was noted but no compensation paid.
The bridge was initially maintained by the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
which paid £800 (equivalent to £ today) for repairs in 1737 and in 1770 replaced the original all-wood structure with a bridge of ten wooden arches on stone piers. By 1794 the bridge was "absolutely dangerous for carriages to pass over it and a stone one [was] now in contemplation." Later the same year the central arches of the new bridge collapsed during heavy flooding and King George III deciding that he did not wish to finance the rebuilding instead instated a temporary free ferry. There followed many years of wrangling between the Crown and the counties of 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...
and Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
over who should bear the cost of the building and maintenance of the bridge as the county boundary ran down the centre of the channel of the Thames thus cutting the bridge in half. The matter was forced by the intervention of John Richards, the Rector of Datchet who was also a lawyer; Richards took legal action and the resulting judgement from the King's Bench in 1809 was that the two counties must equally share the rebuilding costs, a total of £2,375 each (equivalent to £ today). The counties, forced to co-operate, built a new wooden bridge on the old stone piers which was opened by Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
and Princess Elizabeth
Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom
The Princess Elizabeth was a member of the British Royal Family, the seventh child and third daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte...
on 4 December 1812.
The Divided Bridge
The co-operation was short-lived and arguments over maintenance started again in 1834 when the Buckinghamshire side needed repairs and Berkshire refused to contribute. Lack of maintenance led to the bridge collapsing once more in 1836 and the counties came up with the unique solution of each building their own half. Buckinghamshire decided to rebuild with wooden railings whilst Berkshire built its half in iron suspended by chains. Kelly's DirectoryKelly's Directory
Kelly's Directory was a trade directory in the United Kingdom that listed all businesses and tradespeople in a particular city or town, as well as a general directory of postal addresses of local gentry, landowners, charities, and other facilities. In effect, it was a Victorian version of today's...
of 1847 noted:
"Datchet is separated from Windsor by the river Thames, over which is a very singular bridge; one half of it is kept in repair by the county of Bucks and the other half by Berks. The former has a wooden railing and the latter an iron one, suspended by chains, but neither the Bucks nor Berks sides touch each other."
Even during the building the counties would not work together and had to be ordered by the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
to "proceed in such a manner as not to impede each other". Consequently when the bridge was finished the two sides did not touch in the middle with Berkshire's final span being cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed out from the last Berkshire stone pier thus needing no support from the Buckinghamshire side. The result was an unsatisfactory, ungainly structure, sarcastically noted on opening as having "scarce a bridge upon the River Thames which surpasses it". The centre gap was apparent during the Divided Bridge's whole lifetime and lacking structural integrity the "hideous monstrosity" quickly became unsafe:
"It was no wonder that when WombwellGeorge WombwellGeorge Wombwell, , was a famous menagerie exhibitor in the Victorian Britain. He founded Wombwell's Travelling Menagerie.-Life and work:...
took his caravans across the crazy erection, the elephant-van broke through and the beast in it nearly came to an untimely end."
The dispute between the counties was resolved once and for all in 1848 when the Windsor Improvement Act 1848 decreed the dismantling of the Divided Bridge and the building of two new road bridges, Victoria Bridge
Victoria Bridge, Datchet
Victoria Bridge is a road bridge running North/South between Datchet and Windsor, Berkshire, England. It crosses the River Thames on the reach between Old Windsor Lock and Romney Lock...
slightly upstream, and Albert Bridge
Albert Bridge, Datchet
Albert Bridge is a road bridge in England running North/South between Datchet and Old Windsor. It crosses the River Thames on the reach between Old Windsor Lock and Romney Lock...
slightly downstream. Both new bridges opened in 1851. Once the Divided Bridge was demolished the old Windsor to Datchet road was rerouted over Victoria Bridge and the Berkshire side became part of the private grounds of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
. This is the only case on the entire Thames where a main bridge crossing has completely disappeared.
The site today
Save for a small plaque erected by the Datchet Parish Council in 2000, no evidence or trace remains of the Divided Bridge. Datchet High Street which once continued on over the bridge to Berkshire ends abruptly at the Thames and the bank on the Buckinghamshire side is now occupied by a marina car park. The Crown and Angel public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
on the Berkshire bank depicted in many of the contemporary drawings of the bridge was demolished at the same time as the bridge; a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
estate
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
cottage now stands its place.