Around Folly Bridge on the Thames

Thursday, 24 March 2011 11:00

This is probably the most well known pub in Oxford.

The Head of the River Inn sits at the north end of Folly Bridge - opposite Salters Steamers Wharf. It was once Salters Yard where they built the paddle steamer Endeavour for the Baptist Missionary Society. She was then taken apart and shipped to the Belgian Congo

Salters Steamers have been cruising the river for many years, possibly since 1876. To the mid left of the photo of Salters Steamers Wharf above, you can just see Epiphany moored - the middle narrowboat!

On the other side of Folly Bridge, alongside the "cut" under the south fourth arch, is an amazing building. The cut once ended in a lock with approximately a 2 foot drop, but the gates were removed in 1884 and the passage left open. This is an artists impression of bridge and lock - clickety click

It is said that astride the Norman Folly Bridge (known as Grand Pont) was a tower known as Friar Bacon's study. Roger Bacon was a Franciscan monk, astronomer, philosopher and mathematician of the Middle Ages. Some accused him of being a magician and some of his "wisdom" was way ahead of his time! 4 Folly Bridge above was probably built as a tribute to Bacon's tower.

I must at this point give a plug for the amazing website that a lot of my information has been gleaned from - "Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide". What a labour of love, what a tour de force and what an interesting site - I could spend hours on it! Thanks John Eade.