# High Bridge, Reading > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/High_Bridge,_Reading > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/High_Bridge,_Reading.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Bridge%2C_Reading > Source revision: 1277954939 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **High Bridge**, sometimes known as **Duke Street Bridge**, is a bridge across the [River Kennet](/source/River_Kennet) in the town centre of [Reading](/source/Reading,_Berkshire) in the [English](/source/England) county of [Berkshire](/source/Berkshire). It links [Duke Street](/source/Duke_Street,_Reading), to its north, and [London Street](/source/London_Street,_Reading), to its south. High Bridge is the oldest surviving bridge across the Kennet, and is both a [scheduled monument](/source/Scheduled_monument) and a [grade II listed building](/source/Grade_II_listed_building). It comprises a single [arch](/source/Arch) of [vermiculated](/source/Vermiculation) [Portland stone](/source/Portland_stone), with a plain [keystone](/source/Keystone_(architecture)) of [ashlar](/source/Ashlar).[1][2] The bridge forms the downstream limit of the [Brewery Gut](/source/Brewery_Gut), a particularly narrow stretch of the river, and, situated as it is on a blind bend on the river, itself provides a challenge for navigation. For this reason, navigation under the bridge and through the Brewery Gut is controlled by a set of [traffic lights](/source/Traffic_lights) on a one-way basis.[2][3] ## History The first bridge in Reading to be built over the Kennet was located at [Seven Bridges](/source/Bridge_Street,_Reading), in the oldest, [Saxon](/source/Saxon), part of the town. The bridging point now occupied by the High Bridge was probably the second to be used, providing, as it did, a more convenient access to [Reading Abbey](/source/Reading_Abbey) (founded in 1121) and its environs. Certainly there was a bridge on the site by the time of [John Speed](/source/John_Speed)'s map of 1611, and in 1707 a new wooden bridge was constructed on the site.[4][5] By 1788, the timber-framed bridge of 1707 required replacement, and a stone bridge able to handle wagon traffic generated by the textile industry was commissioned. Initially commissioned from architect [Robert Furze Brettingham](/source/Robert_Furze_Brettingham) the Corporation rejected his design and went for a single arch bridge in consultation with "Mr Soane".[6] it was built at a cost of [£](/source/Pound_sign)3,500.[1][7][8] For much of its life, the current bridge formed the downstream limit of the stretch of the River Kennet dominated by the presence of [Simonds Brewery](/source/Simonds_Brewery,_Reading). Since 1999, it has fulfilled the same role with respect to the riverside precinct of the [Oracle shopping centre](/source/The_Oracle,_Reading), which has replaced the brewery, along with the [Reading Buses](/source/Reading_Buses) depot on the opposite bank, with riverside restaurants and other leisure facilities. In 2024 the bridge underwent repairs, including work to restore the parapets, which had deteriorated.[9][10] ## References 1. ["High Bridge, Reading"](http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-38899-high-bridge-reading). British Listed Buildings. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160429122810/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-38899-high-bridge-#.VyNTm_krK70) 29 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 May 2011. 1. ["11 High Bridge"](http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/trail/trail11.html). Reading History Trail. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090226035303/http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/trail/trail11.html) 26 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 January 2015. 1. Clew, Kenneth R (1978). *Wessex Waterway – A Guide to the Kennet & Avon Canal*. pp. 15–16. 1. ["High Bridge"](http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/themes/urban/high.html). Reading History Trail. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090130122249/http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/radstock/rht/themes/urban/high.html) 30 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 January 2015. 1. Phillips, Daphne (1980). *The Story of Reading*. Countryside Books. p. 10. ISBN 0-905392-07-8. 1. R/AC/1/1/24 Mar 1787, Corporation Diary. Almost certainly John Soane 1. Phillips, Daphne (1980). *The Story of Reading*. Countryside Books. p. 89. ISBN 0-905392-07-8. 1. ["Reading in 2003"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110722052225/http://www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk/albums/charter-750/reading-2003/). Berkshire Record Office. Archived from [the original](http://www.berkshirerecordoffice.org.uk/albums/charter-750/reading-2003/) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2011. 1. Clothier, Jake (4 July 2024). ["Duke Street Bridge down to a single lane until November as council undertakes vital repairs"](https://rdg.today/duke-street-bridge-down-to-a-single-lane-until-november-as-council-undertakes-vital-repairs/). *rdg.today*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250227173549/https://rdg.today/duke-street-bridge-down-to-a-single-lane-until-november-as-council-undertakes-vital-repairs/) 27 February 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 February 2024. 1. McBride, Nicole (20 December 2024). ["Dangerous footbridge temporarily closed after funding is pulled"](https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24808885.dangerous-footbridge-temporarily-closed-funding-pulled/). *Reading Chronicle*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241222150024/https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24808885.dangerous-footbridge-temporarily-closed-funding-pulled/) 22 December 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 February 2025. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [High Bridge, Reading](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Bridge%2C_Reading) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Bridge%2C_Reading?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.