Chertsey Bridge. Steel engraving. From Eighty Picturesque Views of the Thames and Medway.
Text accompanying the engraving
The river, becoming very shallow, runs with considerable strength, until it reaches Chertsey weir and lock, on escaping from which it passes through Chertsey-bridge, which is built of stone, and consists of five principal and two collateral arches. The ancient market-town of Chertsey, formerly written Cheortesy, and called by Bede Ceroti Insula, or Cherotuss Island, is situated in Surry [sic], about a mile from the river; previous to the dissolution of monasteries it was a place of considerable importance. The abbey was originally founded in 666, by Erkenwald, bishop of London. It was afterwards destroyed by the Danes, but refounded for Benedictine monks by king Edgar and bishop Ethelwold. It appears to have been a noble structure; its extensive precincts occupying a space of four acres. Some of the outer walls are the only remains of this once celebrated edifice. Cowley, the poet, was an inhabitant of the town, and died here in 1667, in an old mansion, called the Porch-house; part of which is still preserved. Camden is of opinion that Julius Caesar, when he first invaded Britain, crossed the Thames at Chertsey. About a mile westward of the town, on the declivity of St. Ann's Hill, where formerly was a priory of that name, is the seat of the late Right Hon. Charles James Fox [Westmacott's statue of Fox]. [64-65]/
Other bridges
Text and formatting by George P. Landow. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the University of California Library and the Internet Archive and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]
Bibliography
Fearnside, W. G. Eighty Picturesque Views of the Thames and Medway, Engraved on Steel by the First Artists. London: Black and Armstrong, [n.d. after 1837]. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of California at Berkley Library. Web. 30 March 2012.
Last modified 7 May 2012