Kew Bridge

Since Roman times, there has been a ford and ferry crossing between Brentford and Kew, where the solid ground on either side of the river offered a convenient spot to cross the Thames on foot at low tide. Legends tell of Julius Caesar’s army using this crossing in 54 BCE on their march to the British camp at St. Albans, and the site has witnessed various battles throughout history.

From 1659, the Tunstall family managed this crossing. In 1757, Robert Tunstall obtained permission from Parliament to build a toll bridge at Kew, which the Prince of Wales inaugurated on June 1st, 1759. At that time, tolls ranged from one penny for pedestrians to one shilling and sixpence for a coach and four horses. However, this first bridge, which featured two stone arches, lasted only 30 years before proving inadequate.

In 1783, construction began on a second bridge, built alongside the first for £16,500. This bridge was sold in 1819 to Mr Robinson for £23,000, then again in 1873 to the City of London Corporation and the Metropolitan Board of Works for £57,300. The tolls were abolished in 1873.

By the 1890s, it was evident that the second bridge could no longer handle the increasing weight of traffic. It was also too narrow and steep on the Brentford side, making it impractical for modern use.

The current bridge, the third to span the river at Kew, was known as the King Edward VII Bridge, but this name has never stuck. Designed by John Wolfe-Barry and Cuthbert A. Brereton, it was opened in 1903 by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Commissioned jointly by the Middlesex and Surrey County Councils, the bridge cost £250,000, equivalent to £28.5 million in 2020.