Maps
1912: Plans made. There was previously no bridge
here. It was decided to build a
new bridge here before demolishing and building a new Caversham Bridge.
1923: Bridge opened.
1925: The new Reading Bridge -
Reading Bridge, 1925
1929: A Thames Survey -
New Reading Bridge, recently completed, ... a good arched bridge with balustrade all in concrete
1999:-
Reading Bridge 1999
Reading Bridge, Doug Myers © 2005
1700s: Daniel Defoe -
They send from hence to London by barges, very great quantities of malt and meal: the two articles of their loadings. Some of those barges are so large, that I was told they bring a thousand, or Twelve hunderd Quarters of malt at a time: from a hundred to an hundred and twenty Ton, dead weight.
1889: Jerome K Jerome -
The town itself is a famous old place, dating
from the dim days of King Ethelred, when the Danes anchored their warships in
the Kennet, and started from Reading to ravage all the land of Wessex; and here
Ethelred and his brother Alfred fought and defeated them, Ethelred doing the
praying and Alfred the fighting.
In later years, Reading
seems to have been regarded as a handy place to run down to, when matters were
becoming unpleasant in London.
Parliament generally rushed off to Reading whenever there was a plague on at
Westminster; and, in 1625, the Law followed suit,
and all the courts were held at Reading.
It must have been worth while having a mere ordinary plague now and then in London
to get rid of both the lawyers and the Parliament.
During the Parliamentary struggle, Reading was
besieged by the Earl of Essex, and, a quarter of a century later, the Prince of
Orange routed King James's troops there.
Henry I lies buried at Reading,
in the Benedictine abbey founded by him there, the ruins of which may still be
seen; and, in this same abbey, great John of Gaunt was married to the Lady Blanche.
1891: The Stream of Pleasure, Joseph & Elizabeth Robins Pennell -
The town of Reading ... seldom has a good word said for it by those who write from the river
point of view. And yet the stream of the Thames makes glad the city with its railways and big
brick factories and tall chimneys, and it becomes, in its own way, as picturesque,
though not as characteristic of the upper Thames, as the little villages and the old deserted
market towns.
It is not, however, the ideal place for a house-boat, and for this reason, I suppose, we found
two or three within hearing of the ever-passing trains and within sight of the chimneys and the smoke.
From them, canoes were carrying young men and their luggage to the convenient station;
in the small boats at their bows young ladies were lounging;
in the sterns white-capped maids were busy with brooms and buckets.
1906: G.E.Mitton -
Reading is not actually on the river, and Caversham may be called its river-suburb. It is not a place which much attracts boating men. From its size, its manufactories, its chimneys, it is necessarily in many aspects unpleasant to those who have come to seek their rest and pleasure far from smoke and toil. The most important industries are Messrs. Sutton's seed emporium, and Messrs. Huntley and Palmer's biscuit factory, which employs more than five thousand persons; there are also breweries and many lesser works. Did it not lie between two such pre-eminently charming places as Sonning and Mapledurham, boating people would avoid it altogether.
Map: Fry's or de Montfort Island
1157: The island below Reading Bridge was the site of a Trial by Combat.
At the Battle of Coleshill Henry of Essex was standard bearer to King Henry II. When the battle was
going badly, thinking the King was dead, Henry of Essex ran away, and nearly caused the battle to be lost.
Simon de Montfort later accused him of cowardice and it was decided to hold a trial by combat
on this island. Simon de Montfort badly wounded Henry of Essex who later explained that he had been
distracted by an inopportune vision of a certain Gilbert (whom, coincidentally, he had tortured to death).
So clearly, in the opinion of history, (written by the winner), the goody won, which is
why this island is "de Montfort Island" (and not "d'Essex Island").
Simon de Montfort defeats Henry of Essex
Notice how dominant Reading Abbey was in the background.
1900: The training ship King Alfred which is near what is now a World War 1 memorial stone.
Several unofficial organisations catered for maritime enthusiasms,
and this photo shows young cadets posed in front of the brig-rigged King Alfred,
an unseaworthy looking vessel that appears to have been constucted on the hull
of a Thames lighter -
"T S King Alfred, 1900"
(Caversham Bridge)
Introduction
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