Maidenhead Bridge

Maidenhead Bridge carries the A4 road over the River Thames between Maidenhead and Taplow. The first wooden bridge stood here in 1280, replacing a ford at Cookham and giving the settlement its new name, Maidenhythe. A wharf beside the bridge made the crossing a busy place and the town grew around it. The bridge soon needed repairs, and in 1297 Edward I granted tolls to keep it in use. By the 15th century a chapel and hermitage stood on the bridge for travellers to pray before crossing. The present stone bridge was built between 1772 and 1777 to Robert Taylor’s design. The thirteen river arches are of Portland stone, the rest in brick, and Nikolaus Pevsner later called it a fine example of 18th-century engineering. The total cost reached £19,000, a large sum for the time, and work was delayed by ice, frost and flooding. The bridge opened in 1777 and carried traffic until the tolls were removed in 1903 after a legal challenge. Today the bridge still carries the A4 and the Thames Path crosses the river here. The Thames Path follows the reach above Bray Lock, half a mile downstream, and offers views of the water and the surrounding countryside. The Grade I listed structure remains an important crossing and a reminder of the town’s long history. Visitors can walk across the bridge and see the stone arches and balustrade described by Pevsner. The river traffic and the path make it a place where past and present meet.