A plaque with an endearing error marks a bridge close by. Here at the Barrett Bridge we find ourselves amidst Oxford’s rich tapestry of crossings. It is a story of grand designs and humble footpaths. It is a story of how the city has navigated its waterways for centuries. Oxford’s bridges tell tales of Norman ambition. They speak of industrial revolution and modern expansion.
Grandpont stands as a testament to Norman engineering prowess. Nearly a thousand years ago Robert d’Oilly ordered its construction. He was William the Conqueror’s henchman. This massive causeway stretched across marshlands. It proclaimed the importance of Domesday Oxford. It marked the meeting of the Cherwell and the Thames.
Then there is Magdalen Bridge a later version of what the Normans called Petit Pont. John Gwynn widened lengthened and strengthened it as part of an 18th-century initiative to cleanse Oxford’s streets.
The Oxford Canal brought a series of hump-backed bridges. Numbered in sequence they trace the canal’s journey from Hawkesbury to the Coventry Canal. For fifty years this was one of the busiest watercourses in the country. It lugged pottery slate and coal from the Midlands to London.
The railway Swing Bridge is the only movable bridge along the entire course of the River Thames apart from Tower Bridge. The Oxford Preservation Trust ensures it pivots again as it did in its heyday.
Donnington Bridge replaced a high-arched concrete footbridge in 1962. It was opened by Lord Hailsham. It enabled motor traffic to cross the river here for the first time.
In 1937 a pedestrian bridge was constructed at Donnington. Later in 1962 a road bridge was added. It was a single slab of reinforced concrete 170 feet in length.
As motor cars came the city was girdled by a giant concrete Ring Road. Central Oxford became Cowley’s Latin Quarter. An incongruous bridge over the A40 at Cutteslowe is one of the few concessions to Oxford’s cyclists.
Several charming footbridges are scattered in and around Oxford. The rainbow and bailey bridges arch over Port Meadow. The old gasworks bridge links St Ebbes to what is now Grandpont nature reserve. The white-painted crossing marks the confluence of the Cherwell and the Thames. The picturesque stone bridge graces Iffley Lock.
The Bridge of Sighs is the most photographed bridge of all. You have to be a member of Hertford College to use it. But anyone can photograph it.
So as we stand here on Barrett Bridge let’s consider the many crossings that shape Oxford. Each bridge has its own story. Each contributes to the city’s unique character. They serve as reminders of Oxford’s past present and future.