New display boards tell footbridge history

Councillor Anna Railton (R) said she enjoyed finding out "how both the gasworks bridge and pipe bridge came to be and how their use has changed over the years"

A council has installed two information boards on the "fascinating story" of a footbridge over the River Thames.

Oxford City Council worked with historian Liz Woolley to research and share the history of Gasworks Pipe Bridge in St Ebbe's and the gasworks which it was once part of.

The structure, which recently reopened after nearly four years of closure, was built in 1927 and is on the city council's heritage asset register.

Councillor Anna Railton, who funded the boards, called the bridge "an important reminder of Oxford's industrial past".

The bridge became known as "the pipe bridge" because it carried two large gas pipes

The bridge used to connect the two parts of Oxford's gasworks, which occupied 19 acres either side of the Thames southwest of the city.

It allowed workers to cross between the North Works and the newly-built South Works.

It became known as "the pipe bridge" because it carried two large gas pipes.

"The gasworks were a major industrial site, very close to housing in St Ebbe's and Grandpont, and the noise and the pungent smell of gas were inescapable features of everyday life for residents here," said Ms Woolley, who carried out the research for the information boards.

"But there were compensations: it was a particularly good spot for fishing, as pipes from the gasworks' cooling condensers discharged hot water into the river, and fish congregated around these warmer spots!"

The Oxford gasworks closed in the 1960s and the bridge was made into a public footbridge in the early 1970s.

The bridge, which was built in 1927, used to connect the two parts of Oxford's gasworks

Ms Woolley said it was "still an important crossing point, used daily by Friars Wharf families going to St Ebbe's School, and by Grandpont residents going into town".

Ms Railton, who represents Hinksey Park ward, said she enjoyed finding out "how both the gasworks bridge and pipe bridge came to be and how their use has changed over the years".

"This bridge, and the former railway bridge further along the river, are all that's left of the once extensive gasworks site, and they're an important reminder of Oxford's industrial past," she said, adding the industrial gasworks was "still within living memory with it only closing in the 60s".

"The great crime of the St Ebbes 'slum clearance' and the subsequent campaign to save Jericho from the same fate are key bits of Oxford's social history which more people should know about."