The Jubilee River flood relief channel joins from the north (on the left bank below the bridge
Izaac Walton fished at Black Potts bend
Charles II also fished here and Alexander Pope wrote of him -
Methinks I see our mighty monarch stand,
The pliant rod now trembling in his hand;
And see he now doth up from Datchet come
Laden with spoils of slaughtered gudgeons home.
1814: City of London complained to the Commissioners of -
that most serious and indictable obstruction to The Navigation lately made at the Head of Black Potts Ait. It had already cost individual Barge Masters more than the value of all the fish caught.
1850: London and South Western Railway Bridge.
1889: A S Krausse, A Pictorial History of the Thames -
The bridge in question is of an ornamental character in three spans, and is a decided improvement on the majority of the railway bridges across the Thames.
[ This had me worried when I first read that - Can he have been talking about the current bridge?
Ornamental? Well yes he was. But it has changed! See 1892. This is Krausse's sketch in 1889 - ]
Black Pott's Railway Bridge, Krausse 1889
1892:
Originally each span had six ornate cast-iron arched ribs supported on iron cylinders filled with concrete
and then enclosed by brick piers. The ornate arched ribs lasted only 42 years.
Then they were found to be fractured and were replaced by straight wrought iron plate girders.
1897: However James Dredge's illustration still showed the 'ornate cast-iron arched ribs' -
Black Pott's Railway Bridge, Dredge, 1897
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; D230184a
1920: Fred Thacker –
Black Potts Bucks are still in existence close to the railway Bridge.
I have never seen the railway
bridge mentioned in connection with the navigation;
but I know from my own experience what a
cruel and dark passage it is after a heavy pull up from Old Windsor in high
water times.
2004. Commercial boating on the Thames, David Blagrove writes -
My last loaded trips were in late October 2004 and July 2005.
The first was from from Brentford to Cleeve Lock, with the narrow boats "Nuneaton" & "Brighton".
I had brought these from Braunston in Nortamptonshire, where they were loaded with various pre-packed fuels.
We went via the River Wey, where we delivered solid fuel to boats in Pyrford Marina.
There was a very strong stream running on the Thames and we started out with 45 tonnes on the pair,
but delivered a considerable amount at Ash Island, just above Molesey Lock.
We left Brentford on a morning tide on 28th October and went up to Weybridge that night.
Next day we delivered at Ham Hoe Island and at Pyrford, finally ending up below Chertsey lock;
next morning we delivered round the back of Penton Hook Island and at Docket Eddy, amongst other smaller deliveries.
At Black Potts Railway Bridge we had to single the boats out and take a towline from the bank in order to get up through the bridge against the stream.
We eventually tied above Cookham Bridge about 9.30 p.m. The last "drop" was at Goring, made about 9.00 p.m. next day (31st October) in pitch dark,
and I laid the boats above Cleeve Weir and went home just before midnight!
Black Pott's Railway Bridge, Doug Myers © 2005
Map: Romney Ait
Romney Ait is the lock Island with the cut to Romney Lock on the right bank.
Map: Cutlers Ait
Left bank in Romney Weir stream
Upstream to ROMNEY LOCK
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
//Rose Revived
Newbridge
//Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS