Wheatley Bridge

  • Wheatley bridge c. 1830
  • Wheatley old bridge in Civil War times
  • Press report about Wheatley bridge from 1809
  • Wheatley Bridge and ford
  • Sketch c. 1870, taken from Mrs Davenport’s ' Sketches of County Bridges'
Archive Notes:

Early references to Wheatley Bridge from years 956 to the early 1800s. In 1809, as shown in the pressreport, the bridge was damaged by floods and had to be re-built.

Two images of Wheatley bridge as re-built c. 1830 and how it might have looked in Civil War times. There is a large Jack Turner display about the bridge, which can only be seen in WVA.

The Wheatley toll-house was located beside the bridge over the Thame, some distance east of the town. Following improvements to the bridge, the Wheatley Gate was moved to the other end of the bridge in 1804. Mr Parsons was paid £86 11s.0d. being half the cost of erecting the new turnpike house, weighing engine and gate; the county who were responsible for the bridge paid the remainder. When the trust closed, the tollhouse was described as stone with a tiled roof, two bedrooms, two sitting rooms, a kitchen and garden; this was the largest of the tollhouses on this road. The weighing engine was used to check for over-weight wagons and the toll collector kept the fines. The gatekeepers were given powers to levy 20s. per cwt overweight in 1770. One long gate and one short gate formed this turnpike.

According to a press report in the Oxford Journal on Saturday 31 August 1872, tolls were still being collected on the turnpike road, presumably at this toll-house. John Morris, the toll collector, took William Davis to court for failure to pay a toll of 10.5d for 40 sheep.

Map Address:
Archive Number: