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Long Fight for Footpath
posted 6 September 2007
click on photo for larger image
( Copyright Brilliant TV)
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Cookham now again has a footpath running
along the Thames under the Cookham Bridge. This path was lost to the
public when the Thames Conservancy sold Ferry Cottage to a private land
owner in the last century, local residents led by Margaret Bowdrey MBE
of the Ramblers fought long and hard ending up in a court case held to
prove that there had been a right of way for walkers. Several older
residents of Cookham gave evidence that they remembered walking on the
footpath under the bridge to the Ferry. In August this year the new
footpath was opened by Linda Stone. The footpath runs from the decking
at the Ferry Inn to the other side of the bridge. The discussions for
the new footpath have been going on for several years. Liz Kwantes said
"I remember it being discussed when I was on the Parish Council in
1997 and it had been discussed for a while before that, Margaret must
have been fighting for the reinstatement of the footpath for around
seventeen years."
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From the New Footpath |
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| The footpath had been the towpath before the current bridge was built, which was started in 1839 and completed in 1867. The plaque of the makers can be seen from the new footpath, Pease Hutchinson & Co of Darlington. The colour of the bridge has remained the same blue although when it was re-painted a few years ago there was an uproar over the colour, it has since faded back to the colour that it was originally. The bridge has also seen a major refurbishment about nine years ago which cost half a million pounds. The bridge itself is Grade II listed. | ||
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The Manufacturers of the Bridge |
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| When the current bridge was built by the Pinder Brown family there was a toll to cross it and some of the proceeds were put towards Cookham. The Pinder Hall was built in 1937 with some of the toll money. The toll was stopped in 1947 and Lady Nancy Astor, who lived at Cliveden, was the last person to drive over it in her Rolls Royce. There are photos of Cookham residents throwing the toll gates into the river, where they must still remain. | ||
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The Last Car to Cross the Toll Bridge |
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The footpath coming out at the Ferry |
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The Footpath Under the Bridge |
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