Culham Bridge

Culham Bridge is a mediaeval bridge crossing a present backwater of the River Thames in England at Culham, Oxfordshire, near the town of Abingdon. The bridge crosses Swift Ditch which was at one time the main navigation channel of the River Thames until Abingdon Lock was built in 1790. The bridge formerly carried the A415 road from Abingdon to Dorchester, Oxfordshire, but was superseded in 1928 by a modern road bridge. It is a Grade II* listed building. HistoryCulham Bridge was built of stone between 1416 and 1422 to replace an ancient ford called Culham Hythe by a religious body known as The Brotherhood of Christ who subsequently looked after its upkeep. It was built as part of an improvement scheme, together with the two bridges at Abingdon and a causeway across Andersey Island. It is recorded that the completion of Abingdon Bridge severely damaged trade at Wallingford. In the early seventeenth century the Oxford-Burcot Commission constructed a lock at the top of Swift Ditch to direct navigation under Culham Bridge and this remained the main route of the Thames until Abingdon Lock was built in 1790.

Culham Bridge is a mediaeval bridge crossing a present backwater of the River Thames in England at Culham, Oxfordshire, near the town of Abingdon. The bridge crosses Swift Ditch which was at one time the main navigation channel of the River Thames until Abingdon Lock was built in 1790. The bridge formerly carried the A415 road from Abingdon to Dorchester, Oxfordshire, but was superseded in 1928 by a modern road bridge. It is a Grade II* listed building. HistoryCulham Bridge was built of stone between 1416 and 1422 to replace an ancient ford called Culham Hythe by a religious body known as The Brotherhood of Christ who subsequently looked after its upkeep. It was built as part of an improvement scheme, together with the two bridges at Abingdon and a causeway across Andersey Island. It is recorded that the completion of Abingdon Bridge severely damaged trade at Wallingford. In the early seventeenth century the Oxford-Burcot Commission constructed a lock at the top of Swift Ditch to direct navigation under Culham Bridge and this remained the main route of the Thames until Abingdon Lock was built in 1790.