Colne Brook Wraysbury
This posting refers to the area north of the River Thames only. South of the River is Runneymede, Bell Weir
Post to the north Wraysbury Lakes
Post to the east Yeoveney
Post to the south Wraysbury
Post to the west Runnymede Pleasure Grounds and Ankerwycke
Colne Brook
The Colne Brook flows south and enters the Thames
Feathers Lane
Ardmore. Plant Depot
Ferry Lane
Wraysbury Hall. Retirement Hotel for Active Gentlefolk. This was designed by T. E. Collcutt in 1892 and originally called Rivernook. It is in brick and described as ‘free Early Tudor’. It is now let as holiday flats.
2 Chambers Boathouse. Boat rental and leasing
Warwick Pump and Engineering Co. This company was founded in 1967 and operated here in the 1960s. It was taken over in Scotland in 1998.
22, 35, 37 Staines Metal Products. Made heavy duty playground equipment, mainly for local authorities from 1998
22, 37 ASAP Multiform Plastics. Mouldings manufacturers
Hythe End Mills. These were on the Colne Brook at the end of Ferry Lane. They were latterly paper mills
Wraysbury Ferry. This was on the site of what is now Runneymede Bridge and was latterly a punt.
Dearsley Island – this is the area between the two lines of Ferry Lane.
Hythe End Road
British Disabled Waterski & Wakeboard Association. This began in 1978 at Ruislip and Princes Water Ski clubs. Courses were held at clubs around the UK but in early 1980s there was a search for a suitable National Centre. Heron Lake had been a Ready Mixed Concrete gravel pit and was set up. BDWWA grew from a small group into a national governing body with six regions and the Tony Edge National Centre at Heron Lake. Tony had been an early activist who been forced to retire through ill health. There have now been 19 British National Disabled Water Ski Championships mostly here and in 1987 the first World Trophy for the disabled.
Hythe End Farm. Waste Services Plant and Fertiliser Plant.
Runneymede Bridge
The M25 crossing is essentially two bridges – the original Bell Weir Bridge, and the M25 bridge. It is thus a bridge for a motorway, an A-road with pedestrian and cycle bridges.
Runneymede Bridge. Designed by Lutyens in 1937 but not built until 1959-60. This is a single-span brick arch bridge carrying the A30 as the Staines Bypass. This was the first single span across the Thames.
The New Runnymede Bridge was built in the 1980s. It is a single arch bridge made up of parallel concrete frames which allow light to penetrate upwards and which transfer loads vertically so as not to disturb the foundations of the older bridge. The motorway bridge is now six lanes each way, the widest in Britain.
Bronze Age artifacts were found here. The river bank had been revetted with vertical stakes to act as a quay and limit flooding. . Post holes suggested buildings standing closely around, there was evidence of weaving, flint and metalwork and continental imports were found.
Staines Road
Longfield Road Lake. Cemex Angling in an old gravel working.
Thames intake
Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct.The aqueduct was completed around 1900 to take water from the Thames, upstream of Bell Weir Lock and downstream of the new Staines Reservoirs. Sections of it are in tunnels with siphons and some are open. The Staines -Kempton aqueduct starts here and was built in 1963. It takes water from the Thames to treatment works at Kempton and Hampton. It is nearly 13km long taking a maximum of is 364m litres a day. The original intake was built in 1910 by the Metropolitan Water board to take water from to its works in Ashford It first feeds the King George VI reservoir
The Island
There is a body of opinion which says this is the real site where Magna Carta was signed.
Wraysbury Road
Hythe End Bridge over the Colne Brook. This replaces a jack arch bridge built in 1852. It was as a two span bridge with four cast iron beams per span supporting transverse brickwork and fill. The beams were supported on brick abutments and a brick pier at midstream. In 1975, the bridge was repaired and strengthened, some of the brick arches were replaced with concrete and traffic lights were installed for single lane traffic. In 1985, the bridge was assessed by Berkshire County Council for loading capacity. They immediately closed the bridge and it was demolished and replaced.
Stone showing tide levels – this is shown on maps in fields north of the road
Feathers Pub. This is now the site of new housing
Pumping station
Sources
British Disabled Waterski. Web site
History. Wraysbury. Web site.
London Transport. Country walks
Penguin. Surrey
Pevsner and Cherry. Surrey
Runneymede on Thames. Web site
Thames Water. Web site
Post to the north Wraysbury Lakes
Post to the east Yeoveney
Post to the south Wraysbury
Post to the west Runnymede Pleasure Grounds and Ankerwycke
Colne Brook
The Colne Brook flows south and enters the Thames
Feathers Lane
Ardmore. Plant Depot
Ferry Lane
Wraysbury Hall. Retirement Hotel for Active Gentlefolk. This was designed by T. E. Collcutt in 1892 and originally called Rivernook. It is in brick and described as ‘free Early Tudor’. It is now let as holiday flats.
2 Chambers Boathouse. Boat rental and leasing
Warwick Pump and Engineering Co. This company was founded in 1967 and operated here in the 1960s. It was taken over in Scotland in 1998.
22, 35, 37 Staines Metal Products. Made heavy duty playground equipment, mainly for local authorities from 1998
22, 37 ASAP Multiform Plastics. Mouldings manufacturers
Hythe End Mills. These were on the Colne Brook at the end of Ferry Lane. They were latterly paper mills
Wraysbury Ferry. This was on the site of what is now Runneymede Bridge and was latterly a punt.
Dearsley Island – this is the area between the two lines of Ferry Lane.
Hythe End Road
British Disabled Waterski & Wakeboard Association. This began in 1978 at Ruislip and Princes Water Ski clubs. Courses were held at clubs around the UK but in early 1980s there was a search for a suitable National Centre. Heron Lake had been a Ready Mixed Concrete gravel pit and was set up. BDWWA grew from a small group into a national governing body with six regions and the Tony Edge National Centre at Heron Lake. Tony had been an early activist who been forced to retire through ill health. There have now been 19 British National Disabled Water Ski Championships mostly here and in 1987 the first World Trophy for the disabled.
Hythe End Farm. Waste Services Plant and Fertiliser Plant.
Runneymede Bridge
The M25 crossing is essentially two bridges – the original Bell Weir Bridge, and the M25 bridge. It is thus a bridge for a motorway, an A-road with pedestrian and cycle bridges.
Runneymede Bridge. Designed by Lutyens in 1937 but not built until 1959-60. This is a single-span brick arch bridge carrying the A30 as the Staines Bypass. This was the first single span across the Thames.
The New Runnymede Bridge was built in the 1980s. It is a single arch bridge made up of parallel concrete frames which allow light to penetrate upwards and which transfer loads vertically so as not to disturb the foundations of the older bridge. The motorway bridge is now six lanes each way, the widest in Britain.
Bronze Age artifacts were found here. The river bank had been revetted with vertical stakes to act as a quay and limit flooding. . Post holes suggested buildings standing closely around, there was evidence of weaving, flint and metalwork and continental imports were found.
Staines Road
Longfield Road Lake. Cemex Angling in an old gravel working.
Thames intake
Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct.The aqueduct was completed around 1900 to take water from the Thames, upstream of Bell Weir Lock and downstream of the new Staines Reservoirs. Sections of it are in tunnels with siphons and some are open. The Staines -Kempton aqueduct starts here and was built in 1963. It takes water from the Thames to treatment works at Kempton and Hampton. It is nearly 13km long taking a maximum of is 364m litres a day. The original intake was built in 1910 by the Metropolitan Water board to take water from to its works in Ashford It first feeds the King George VI reservoir
The Island
There is a body of opinion which says this is the real site where Magna Carta was signed.
Wraysbury Road
Hythe End Bridge over the Colne Brook. This replaces a jack arch bridge built in 1852. It was as a two span bridge with four cast iron beams per span supporting transverse brickwork and fill. The beams were supported on brick abutments and a brick pier at midstream. In 1975, the bridge was repaired and strengthened, some of the brick arches were replaced with concrete and traffic lights were installed for single lane traffic. In 1985, the bridge was assessed by Berkshire County Council for loading capacity. They immediately closed the bridge and it was demolished and replaced.
Stone showing tide levels – this is shown on maps in fields north of the road
Feathers Pub. This is now the site of new housing
Pumping station
Sources
British Disabled Waterski. Web site
History. Wraysbury. Web site.
London Transport. Country walks
Penguin. Surrey
Pevsner and Cherry. Surrey
Runneymede on Thames. Web site
Thames Water. Web site
Comments