Swinford Toll Bridge


Swinford Toll Bridge is a privately owned toll bridge across the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It crosses the river just above Eynsham Lock, between the village of Eynsham on the west bank and the small settlement of Swinford on the east bank. It carries the B4044 road from Oxford to Eynsham, which was the A40 road until the Eynsham bypass was completed in 1936.

History

The bridge, a Georgian structure built of local limestone, was opened in 1769. It replaced a pre-existing ferry and its construction was funded by the Earl of Abingdon. The bridge is governed by its own Act of Parliament. It allows the bridge owner to collect tolls and makes the building of bridges across the river illegal for three miles either way up or down stream from Swinford. By repute, the owners do not pay tax on the revenue from the tolls as a from King George III. It is one of the two remaining toll bridges that cross the Thames upstream of London, the other being Whitchurch Bridge.
In 1835 tolls for pedestrians over Swinford bridge were abolished. Pedal cycles and motorcycles are also exempt from tolls. Other classes of traffic remain subject to tolls, which are £0.05 in the case of cars. Despite this small toll there is a campaign to make it toll-free. Oxfordshire County Council estimates that 10,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day. Toll collection causes significant delays. An online poll in 2006 on the Witney Gazette website showed that 87.5% of voters want the tolls scrapped.
The bridge was put up for sale in 2009 and was sold at auction on 3 December for £1.08 million. A campaign calling for Oxfordshire County Council to buy the bridge was unsuccessful.
According to travelers who use this bridge, the toll remained at 5p for an automobile in late 2019 and was still collected manually. There was no charge for pedestrians.