View source for Radcot Bridge

{{short description|Grade I listed bridge in Grafton and Radcot, Oxfordshire, England}}
{{For|the 1387 battle|Battle of Radcot Bridge}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name=Radcot Bridge
|image=Radcot Bridge.JPG
|caption=Radcot Bridge
|official_name=
|carries=[[A4095 road (Great Britain)|A4095 road]], [[Thames Path]]
|crosses=[[River Thames]]
|locale= Radcot, [[Oxfordshire]]
|maint= [[Oxfordshire County Council]]
|heritage= [[Listed building|Grade I listed]]
|id=
|design= arch
|material= stone
|spans= 
|mainspan= 
|length= 
|width= 
|height= {{convert|11|ft|4|in|m}}
|load= {{convert|18|tonne|ton}}
|clearance=
|below= 
|traffic=
|open= ''circa'' 1200
|closed=
|toll=
|map_cue=
|map_image=
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|coordinates={{coord|51.693081|-1.588644|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
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}}

'''Radcot Bridge''' is a crossing of the [[River Thames|Thames]] in England, south of [[Radcot]], [[Oxfordshire]], and north of [[Faringdon]], Oxfordshire which is in the district of that county that was in Berkshire.{{refn|group=n|[[Vale of White Horse]]}} It carries the [[A4095 road (Great Britain)|A4095 road]] across the reach above [[Radcot Lock]]. In many analyses it is a series of three bridges &ndash; before the northern one is reached, mainly to the east, is the smaller island hosting the Swan Inn. On the main north bank are slight earthworks forming a large square in which further remains have been found of [[Empress Matilda|Matilda]]'s Castle and some [[Roman Britain|Roman]] artefacts.

==The bridges==
Three stone bridges cross this part of the upper Thames valley: from south to north, these are: '''Old Radcot Bridge''',<ref>{{NHLE|num=1048414|desc=Old Radcot Bridge or Radcot Bridge, Grade I, that part in Great Faringdon parish}}</ref><ref>{{NHLE|num=1053405|desc=Old Radcot Bridge or Radcot Bridge, Grade I, that part in Radcot and Grafton parish}}</ref> the '''Canal Bridge''' (''[[listed building|listed]]'' as part of Radcot Bridge)<ref>{{NHLE|num=1283582|desc=Canal Bridge or Radcot Bridge, Grade II}}</ref> and '''Pidnell Bridge''' which is close to the main building on the smaller island, 'Ye Olde Swan' Hotel. The latter is confusingly furthest from Pidnell Farm &ndash; the nearest farmstead or hamlet in Faringdon [[civil parish|parish]].

Originally built across the Thames, Old Radcot Bridge now crosses only about a third of the local river flow since the construction, in 1787, of a new cut for the [[Thames and Severn Canal]]. The Canal Bridge was built at the same time. Radcot Bridge is the oldest standing bridge on the Thames, the core having been built, with pointed arches of [[Taynton, Oxfordshire|Taynton]] stone, around 1200. The [[Cistercian]] [[monk]]s of Saint Mary at [[Cîteaux]] in [[Normandy]] were granted land for the purpose by [[John of England|King John]].

The larger island which is crossed has a rectangular cottage (named after the bridge) with one side almost against the road, and which is a [[listed building]].;<ref>{{NHLE|num=1367743|desc=Radcot Bridge Cottage}}</ref> on the other side of the road is [[Pillbox (military)|pillbox]] from [[World War II]], part of the [[GHQ Line]].

Much of the structure was torn down during the [[Radcot Bridge (Battle)|Battle of Radcot Bridge]] on 19 December 1387 between troops loyal to [[Richard II of England|Richard II]], led by court favourite [[Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland|Robert de Vere]], and an army captained by Richard's cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby &ndash; the future [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]]. The bridge was rebuilt in 1393. It was severely damaged during the latter part of the [[Wars of the Roses]], and was largely rebuilt as it appears today, with a flattened centre arch.

Radcot Bridge became a toll bridge and its wharf was commercially important as the highest shipping point on the Thames, with the junction of the [[Thames and Severn Canal|Severn-Thames canal]] not far away at [[Lechlade]], [[Gloucestershire]]. During this era of the [[Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom]] the local towpath would also have become heavily worn year-round for the first time.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

The longer [[Thames Path]], variants of which were first made in the 19th century, crosses the bridges.

==Matilda's Castle==
''[[Time Team]]'', in a programme first broadcast on 15 February 2009, excavated Matilda's Castle in the summer of 2008. They found that visible earthworks near Radcot Bridge dated from the 17th-century [[English Civil War]], when Parliamentary forces built them to support cannon used to bombard Royalist forces garrisoned in Radcot House. Underneath some of these earthworks were remains of a square [[Normans|Norman]] [[keep]] dating from the time of the 12th-century [[The Anarchy|Anarchy]]. Evidence suggested the tower was pulled down a century after it was built. Its remains were further damaged by later constructions on the site. Some Roman remains, possibly from a villa, were also found.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2009/radcot/radcot-found.html |title=Time Team Radcot page |access-date=20 February 2009 |publisher=Channel 4 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Crossings of the River Thames]]

==Notes and references==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|group=n}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last=Toynbee |first=M.R. |year=1949 |title=Radcot Bridge and Newbridge |journal=Oxoniensia |publisher=[[Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society|Oxford Architectural and Historical Society]] |volume=XIV |pages=46–52 |url= http://oxoniensia.org/volumes/1949/toynbee.pdf |access-date=27 October 2013}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Radcot Bridge}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051126032423/http://faringdon.org/hyradcot.htm Faringdon Online: Radcot Bridge]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060317220716/http://www.wantage.com/museum/Local_History/New%20Bridge.pdf New Bridge — Oldest Bridge over the Thames], [[Vale and Downland Museum]]

{{River item box|table=start
|upstream=[[Eaton Footbridge]] (pedestrian) |downstream=[[Old Man's Bridge]] (pedestrian)
}}{{River item box|table=end
|River=[[Thames Path]]
|upstream= northern bank <br>[[Bloomers Hole Footbridge]]
|downstream= southern bank<br>[[Tadpole Bridge]]}}

[[Category:Bridges completed in the 13th century]]
[[Category:Bridges in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:Bridges across the River Thames]]
[[Category:Grade I listed bridges]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Oxfordshire]]
[[Category:West Oxfordshire District]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in England]]
[[Category:Stone bridges in the United Kingdom]]