Some towns owe their existence to the making of bridges. It was so at
Maidenhead. It was quite a small place, a cluster of cottages, but
Camden tells us that after the erection of the bridge the town began
to have inns and to be so frequented as to outvie its "neighbouring
mother, Bray, a much more ancient place," where the famous "Vicar"
lived. The old bridge gave place in 1772 to a grand new one with very
graceful arches, which was designed by Sir Roland Taylor.

Abingdon, another of our Berkshire towns, has a famous bridge that
dates back to the fifteenth century, when it was erected by some good
merchants of the town, John Brett and John Huchyns and Geoffrey
Barbour, with the aid of Sir Peter Besils of Besselsleigh, who
supplied the stone from his quarries. It is an extremely graceful
structure, well worthy of the skill of the medieval builders. It is
some hundreds of yards in length, spanning the Thames and meadows that
are often flooded, the main stream being spanned by six arches. Henry
V is credited with its construction, but he only graciously bestowed
his royal licence. In fact these merchants built two bridges, one
called Burford Bridge and the other across the ford at Culham. The
name Burford has nothing to do with the beautiful old town which we
have already visited, but is a corruption of Borough-ford, the town
ford at Abingdon. Two poets have sung their praises, one in atrocious
Latin and the other in quaint, old-fashioned English. The first poet
made a bad shot at the name of the king, calling him Henry IV instead
of Henry V, though it is a matter of little importance, as neither
monarch had anything to do with founding the structure. The Latin poet
sings, if we may call it singing:--

Henricus Quartus quarto fundaverat anno
Rex pontem Burford super undas atque Culham-ford.