Magdalen Bridge: Difference between revisions

'''Magdalen Bridge''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|m|ɔː|d|l|ɨᵻ|n}}) spans the divided stream of the [[River Cherwell]] just to the east of the City of [[Oxford]], [[England]], and next to [[Magdalen College, Oxford|Magdalen College]], whence it gets its name and pronunciation.<ref name="hibbert">{{cite book | title=[[The Encyclopaedia of Oxford]] | publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] | chapter=Magdalen Bridge | year=1988 | page=230 | isbn=0-333-39917-X | editor-last=Hibbert |editor-first=Christopher |editor-link=Christopher Hibbert }}</ref> It connects the [[High Street, Oxford|High Street]] to the west with [[The Plain, Oxford|The Plain]], now a [[roundabout]], to the east.

== Antecedents==

This point of the Cherwell has been used for crossing since ancient times. The first known reference to a bridge goes back to 1004 and originally it was probably a wooden trestle construction or a drawbridge.<ref>Jaine, T.W.M. (1971). [http://oxoniensia.org/volumes/1971/jaine.pdf ''The building of Magdalen Bridge, 1772–1790''] (PDF), ''[[Oxoniensia]]'' xxxvi, p.59.</ref> By the 16th century a late medieval stone bridge had replaced the wooden one. This bridge was about {{convert|1500|ft}} long and was formed by 20 arches.<ref>Steane, John (1997). ''[http://www.wantage.com/museum/Local_History/Medieval%20Bridges%20in%20Oxfordshire.pdf ''Medieval Bridges in Oxfordshire]''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304191650/http://www.wantage.com/museum/Local_History/Medieval%20Bridges%20in%20Oxfordshire.pdf |date=4 March 2011 }}, [[Vale and Downland Museum]], Wantage, UK. Local History Series, p.5.</ref>

The present stone bridge was designed by [[John Gwynn (architect)|John Gwynn]] of [[Shrewsbury]] with a similar length to the previous one. It has a total of 11 arches of different dimensions distributed as follows. For each of the two branches of the river there are three large semicircular arches plus two smaller ones at each side of the river, originally designed for the towpaths. A central elliptical arch, the only existing in the long central area across the island, completes the structure. This arch only conveys water when the island gets submerged. The original plans of the bridge are in the British Library, 1802 c.17, vol.2, and King's Maps xxxvi, 33 (1).<ref>[[Howard Colvin|Colvin, Howard]] (2008). [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=CSyaO-MqYoAC&dqq=A+biographical+dictionary+of+British+architects,+1600-1840&source=gbs_navlinks_s ''A biographical dictionary of British architects, 1600-1840''], [[Yale University Press]], p.461, {{ISBN |978-0-300-12508-5}}.</ref>

The bridge, built between 1772 and 1790 by John Randall, had originally had a width of {{convert|27|ft}}, which accommodated a single roadway and two pavements. Although the bridge was opened to traffic by the end of 1778, a new scheme for the balustrade and the completion of the south western corner were not finished until 1782 and 1790 respectively.<ref>Jaine, T.W.M. (1971). [http://oxoniensia.org/volumes/1971/jaine.pdf ''The building of Magdalen Bridge, 1772–1790''], [http://www.oahs.org.uk/oxof.php Oxoniensia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324165308/http://www.oahs.org.uk/oxof.php |date=2010-03-24 }} xxxvi, p.70.</ref>

Gwynn's original design included aan grandiloquentextravagant decoration for the balustrade with sculptures and sphinxes that despite of beingwere commissioned to [[Henry Webber]] in 1778 werebut eventually abandoned in 1782.<ref>Jaine, T.W.M. (1971). [http://oxoniensia.org/volumes/1971/jaine.pdf ''The building of Magdalen Bridge, 1772–1790''], [http://www.oahs.org.uk/oxof.php Oxoniensia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324165308/http://www.oahs.org.uk/oxof.php |date=2010-03-24 }} xxxvi, p.69.</ref> According to [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner]], the bridge has "good sturdy balusters", although these have been replaced over the years because of degradation due to pollution.<ref>Sherwood, Jennifer and [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner, Sir Nikolaus B.L.]] (1974). ''The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire'', [[Penguin Books]], p.311, {{ISBN|0-14-071045-0}}.</ref>

Despite opposition from [[University of Oxford|University]] members, the bridge was widened in 1882 to accommodate a four-foot gauge track for the tramway.<ref>Skinner, Annie (2005). [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=PERizR8zleIC&printsec=frontcover&dqq=Cowley+Road.+A+history&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false ''Cowley Road. A history''], Signal Books, p.61. {{ISBN |1-904955-10-X}}.</ref> The 18th-century bridge was widened by {{convert|20|ft}} on the south side, but design was retained.

==May TriviaMorning==

== External links ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060315235732/http://www.cintec.com/en/casehist/bridges/bridge07.htm Magdalen Bridge, Oxford]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051217225742/http://www.riverthames.co.uk/boat/hire/1732.htm Magdalen Bridge Boathouse]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060319064223/http://www.oxfordstudent.com/tt2004wk1/newsNews/restrictions_on_magdalen_bridge Restrictions on Magdalen Bridge] by Tom Pinnock, ''[[The Oxford Student]]'', 2004