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A Footbridge to Boulters Lock
During Victorian times, the island of Boulter’s Lock near Taplow won fame and notoriety across the country, as the upper classes flocked to the River Thames, particularly on the Sunday of Ascot Week, when there were pageants, carnivals and regattas. However the general enjoyment of the island has been limited for a long time by the lack of access to the river. With the development of the 48-acre Taplow Paper Mill site there is at last an opportunity to connect Boulter’s Lock and the Thames Path with a pedestrian-friendly route, via a footbridge over the river to Taplow. We are fortunate in having a local architect specialising in bridges, Knight Architects, who, together with consulting engineer Schlaich Bergermann und Partner, have produced an illustrative design to show what it might look like. We are grateful for permission to reproduce their pictures here. The shallow arch design is inspired by Brunel’s nearby Maidenhead Bridge. This famous brick railway bridge boasts the widest and flattest arches in the world, and this form is echoed in the slender new steel box structure of the 35-metre-span footbridge. A filigree parapet with discreet LED lighting completes the highly transparent composition. Unfortunately, the developers of the Mill site have stated that the footbridge is not currently in their budget, but that if another organisation were to find the money, then they would be happy to build it. This would be a wonderful addition to the Taplow Riverside environment. One question remains: can we find a sponsor? Images copyright Knight Architects Ltd.
