Hidden Henley

Can you guess what this is?

A stranger to the area would expect the old wooden bridge at Marsh Lock, Henley-on-Thames, to take the walker to the opposite side of the river into Berkshire. Yet curiously it returns some 300 metres later to the same bank side of the Thames!

It is believed to have been built in 1796 to local inventor Humphrey Gainsborough’s design at around the same time as the pound lock located on the island in the middle of this extraordinary bridge. It was forced to take this route for the use of heavy horses pulling barges, because the tow-paths on both sides of the river were blocked by water-mills.

There is still plenty left from back then. The former mill manager’s house is a fine property and can, in its’ dominant position, still clearly be seen overlooking the smaller weir. The other mill has been redeveloped into apartments with splendid views over the other old mill-pool and beyond. Although many times updated, even the lock itself continues to use the same principles and basic design as it did back when Gainsborough pioneered the design.

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However, as walkers and local people know, it was refurbished in 1996, suddenly closed in May 2022 due to safety concerns and has been in the news regularly since then. Initial diversions were over private land with the owners agreement but the present-day diversion takes the walker over three extra miles and out to Harpsden and Harpsden Wood. This is what the Environment Agency website currently (4/6/26) says:

“Marsh Tail Horsebridge

This bridge has recently been surveyed and has been confirmed as being in a reasonable condition. We do, however, need to replace some of the deck boards and carry out other minor repairs to this bridge. A footpath diversion application has been submitted to temporarily close this bridge while we carry out the necessary repairs. We anticipate this work will take place in summer 2026 and expect it to last around 2 to 3 weeks. We will aim to leave the bridge open outside of working hours.”

My photo shows the underside of this precious, curious bridge, as I’m sure you have guessed by now.