In the nineteenth century, Botley Road was known as Seven Bridges Road. Today the road has just four bridges, as follows.
Osney Bridge, across the Thames. There was a bridge here in the fourteenth century, which was widened in 1777. This collapsed in 1885 and the present bridge opened in 1889.
Osney Ditch Bridge, just past St Frideswide’s Church. This bridge crosses the Osney Ditch Stream, which leaves the Bullstake Stream just below Tumbling Bay. Downstream of the bridge the stream flows along the west side of Osney island and rejoins the Thames by Osney Lock. There was a footbridge on the site of Osney Ditch Bridge which was widened in 1674 and then extended in the eighteenth century to include seven arches. In the past it was known as Frideswide Bridge and Seven Arches Bridge (it has seven stone arches). It is a Grade 2 listed structure.
Bullstake Bridge, just past Waitrose. This crosses the Bullstake Stream, which leaves the Thames by Tumbling Bay and rejoins it just before the railway bridge. An original bridge built in 1530 was rebuilt in 1726 and again in 1823.
Botley Bridge, just after the Park and Ride and before the turn-off to the Botley interchange. Here the road crosses the Seacourt Stream, which leaves the Thames north of Wytham and rejoins it again near Kennington. Until 1974, this was the boundary between Oxfordshire and Berkshire.
Three other bridges were demolished at some point. I know of only one:
Seven Arches Bridge, between Bullstake Bridge and Botley Bridge. This was built in the 1660s, rebuilt in the eighteenth century, then demolished in 1923. There was no stream here, but the bridge was built to raise the road where there was frequent flooding. It was sometimes confused with the Osney Ditch Bridge, which also had seven arches and was known later as Seven Arches Bridge.
Gus Fagan, 2024
Osney Island 