Hythe Bridge (formerly known as High Bridge[1]) is a Victorian flat cast iron beamed bridge on Hythe Bridge Street in the west of central Oxford, England.[2] It spans the Castle Mill Stream, a backwater of the River Thames. Hythe Bridge forms part of the main arterial route west of Oxford. It lies on the A4144, which continues west as the Botley Road (A420).
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/CastleMillStream.jpg/220px-CastleMillStream.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/HytheBridge.jpg/220px-HytheBridge.jpg)
The first bridge here, probably of wooden construction, was built by Oseney Abbey in 1200–10.[1] A stone bridge was built in 1383. It was a round-arched bridge with three arches. The current iron bridge was designed by John Galpin, an Oxford-based engineer, in 1861. The name "Hythe" is derived from the "hithe" (wharf) that used to be located by the bridge. "Hithe" is a Saxon word that means a landing place.
Immediately to the northeast of Hythe Bridge is the current southern end of the Oxford Canal. This used to continue south of Hythe Bridge Street to a basin with wharves that in 1951 was filled in and is now a car park and part of Nuffield College.
References
edit- ^ a b Hibbert, Christopher, ed. (1988). "Hythe Bridge". The Encyclopaedia of Oxford. Macmillan. p. 190. ISBN 0-333-39917-X.
- ^ "Old River". Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
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