Editing Staines-upon-Thames (section)

===Staines Bridge===
{{main|Staines Bridge}}
The first surviving mention of a bridge from the medieval period is a document from 1222,<ref name="Thacker 1920 386"/> that authorises repairs using wood cut from Windsor Forest. In around 1250, a causeway was constructed at Egham Hythe to improve the southern approach to the crossing.<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp18-19>{{harvnb|Maryfield|2006|pp=18–19}}</ref>{{refn|It has been suggested that the Egham Hythe causeway may have originally been built by the Romans and that the work in the mid-13th century was a repair or extension, rather than a new construction.<ref name=Jones_2010_pp13-14/>|group=note}} Also during the 13th century, there were renewals of the grant of [[pontage]] and, in 1376, [[toll (fee)|tolls]] were levied on boat traffic to provide additional funds for maintenance.<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp18-19/> Local people left [[bequest]]s for not only the repair of the bridge, but also the upkeep of the roads leading to it on each side of the river.<ref>{{harvnb|Maryfield|2006|pp=41–42}}</ref>

The bridge was destroyed in the [[English Civil War|Civil War]] and was not rebuilt until the 1680s.<ref>{{harvnb|Reynolds|1962|pp=13–18}}</ref> In 1734, an [[Act of Parliament (UK)|Act of Parliament]] noted that the structure was "in a ruinous and dangerous condition" and that the money raised from tolls and local taxes was insufficient to fund adequate maintenance.<ref>{{harvnb|Maryfield|2006|p=87}}</ref> In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were four attempts to construct a new bridge. The first, designed by [[Thomas Sandby]], was opened in 1796, but was closed two years later after cracks started to form in the stonework. A [[cast iron|cast-iron]] replacement, designed by James Wilson in consultation with [[George Rennie (engineer)|George Rennie]] was opened in 1803, but cracked within two months. A third bridge was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1804. It was designed by Rennie and was constructed of timber, strengthened with cast iron plates. Although it did not suffer from the problems of the previous two bridges, it was costly to maintain (£11,000 in 1827) and restricted the width of boats passing beneath it.<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp88-89>{{harvnb|Maryfield|2006|pp=88–89}}</ref><ref name=Goble_2016_p5>{{harvnb|Goble|2016|p=5}}</ref>

[[File:Staines Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 2578578.jpg|thumb|right|[[Staines Bridge]], opened 1832]]
A further Act of Parliament in 1828, authorised the borrowing of up to £60,000 for the construction of a fourth bridge. The [[granite]] structure was designed by George Rennie and was based on [[Waterloo Bridge]].<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp88-89/><ref name=NHLE_Staines_Bridge>{{NHLE|num=1187018|desc=Staines Bridge|grade=II|fewer-links=yes|access-date=9 May 2022}}</ref> Rennie insisted that the site of the crossing be moved upstream, where deeper foundations could be constructed. The repositioning required new approach roads to be constructed and the necessary land was subject to compulsory purchase.<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp88-89/><ref name=Goble_2016_p5/> The foundation stones were laid on each side of the river in September 1829<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp90-91>{{harvnb|Maryfield|2006|pp=90–91}}</ref> and [[William IV]] opened the bridge in April 1832.<ref name=NHLE_Staines_Bridge/><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date= 2 May 1832 |title= Opening of the new bridge at Staines |work=  Derby Mercury |issue= 5207 |location= Derby }}</ref> Tolls for crossing the bridge were abolished in 1871.<ref name=Goble_2016_p5/>