Victoria Bridge, Datchet
1851 The enclosure of the Little Park at Windsor necessitated removal of Datchet Bridge. Two new bridges were constructed - The Victoria Bridge and The Albert Bridge. They were constructed in cast iron in 1850-51.
'The bridge was designed by the late Mr. Thomas Page, who is well remembered by his designs for Westminster, Chelsea, and many other bridges, and consists of one opening of 120 ft. span, with a headway of 20 ft. at the centre, and is of a highly ornamental character throughout. The width of the roadway is 30 ft. between the parapets. The abutments are of brickwork faced with stone, and have a skewback, from which spring the cast-iron Tudor arched ribs, having a rise of 18 ft. 6 in. at centre. There are five of these ribs placed 7 ft. apart between centres ; they have an average depth of 3 ft. each ; the three inner ribs are of I-section, with flanges 91 in. by 11 in., and the two face ribs have a facia section. Each rib is cast in seven segments, well bolted together, the joints occurring at 9 ft., 28 ft., and 53 ft. on each side of the centre ; the three segments in the middle of the span have a portion of the cast-iron horizontal girder cast on them, and from the point at 28 ft. on either side of the centre the connection between the rib and the horizontal girder is made with some very light spandril filling which is dovetailed together throughout, and into the extrados of the arched rib and the bottom flange of the horizontal girder ; it is also secured in the same way at the ends into the cast-iron vertical plate which is bedded into the brickwork of the abutment. All the ribs are thoroughly well tied together with cast-iron distance girders, connected by bolts, and the bottom flanges of the horizontal girders are braced with a system of wrought-iron bars. On the bottom flange of the horizontal girder some brick jack arches, having a rise of 10 1/2 in., are turned to carry the roadway. The outside horizontal girders on either side of the bridge have an elaborate cast-iron overhanging course fitted on to them, and on this the parapet for the roadway is fixed, which is in itself a clever bit of foundrywork, as the designs on each bay of it are so small and varied.'[1]
Prince Albert certainly took a great interest in the construction of the bridges, the Albert Bridge, linking Old Windsor and Datchet, bearing a plaque inscribed "The Albert Bridge, so called by permission of The Most Gracious Majesty The Queen and the Royal Highness Prince Albert, 1851".
WWII The bridge was damaged by extra-heavy traffic
1963 The Victoria Bridge was eventually closed on 26th March 1963 following this wartime damage as cracks had developed in the cast iron ribs.
A temporary Bailey Bridge was erected by Army engineers over the existing bridge, but without placing any load on it, and so that the old bridge could be removed. The Bailey Bridge itself had to be removed later
1966 The road to Datchet was closed to traffic whilst a replacement bridge was being constructed, although a temporary footbridge existed to one side for pedestrians and cyclists.
1967 The bridge was opened in February 1967. The consultants for the project were Messrs. Mott, Hay and Anderson.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Thames Web