Maidenhead Bridge Act 1772
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1772 c. 41 |
| Year | 1772 |
(12 Geo. 3) C A P. XLI.
'WHEREAS the Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses of the Town of , otherwiseMaidenhead , in the County of Berks , for the Time being, are, by virtue of several Charters, the sole Owners and Proprietors of a Timber Bridge over the River Thames , called Maindenheth , otherwise Maindenhead Bridge , and the Passage and Way thereon, and are intitled to receive and take certain Tolls therein particularly mentioned for Pontage and Passage over and under the said Bridge; but those Tolls are very unequally laid, and not duly proportioned: And whereas the said Timber Bridge is narrow and incommodious, and so greatly decayed, that, in the Opinion of able and experienced Workmen, it ought to be taken down, and a new Bridge built: And whereas the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, are desirous, for the Accommodation of the Publick, to build a new Bridge over the said River near the present Bridge; but, by an Estimate made of the Expence thereof, it appears, that the Tolls they now receive by virtue of their Charters for passing over and under the present Bridge will not be sufficient to defray the Expence of erecting a safe and commodious Bridge; and therefore it is necessary to make some other Provisions for the same, which cannot be done without the Aid of Parliament: In order therefore to enable the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, to build a proper and convenient Bridge, and to defray the Expence thereof, and of keeping the same in Repair for ever; may it please Your Majesty that it may be enacted;' and be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, Thatit shall and may be lawful to and for the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses of the Town ofMaidenheth , otherwise Maidenhead , for the Time being, or the major Part of them, and they are hereby authorised, impowered, required, and directed, as soon as possibly may be, by themselves, their Deputies, Agents, Workmen, Servants, and others, to build a new Bridge with Stone, Brick, and other substantial Materials, cross the said River thames , at a proper Distance from the present Bridge called Maidenhead Bridge , and to design, assign, and lay out, how and in what Manner the said new Bridge shall be erected, built, and completed, and to dig and make proper Foundations in the said River, and on the Lands and Grounds lying and being on each side thereof, for the Piers and Abutments of the said new Bridge, and to cut and level the Banks, and to level and fill up the Bed of any Part of the said River, in such Manner as the said Mayor, Bridge-masters and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, shall think necessary and proper for building the said new-intended Bridge; and to cut, remove, and take away, all Trees, Roots of Trees, Beds of Gravel, Sand, Mud, or any other Impediment whatsoever, which may anywise hinder the erecting and completing the said Bridge; and to erect and make, in or over the said River, and the Lands adjoining or near to the same, any Camp-shots, Trenches, and Landing-places, and to widen or enlarge any Bridle or Horse Roads, or any other Ways or Roads leading to the said Bridge, on each Side of the said River, so as to make the same fit for Carriages; and to make all such new or other Roads and Ways to and from such Bridge, as may facilitate the Approaches to, and Passage over, the said River, and to land Stones, Bricks, Timber, and all other Materials, on the Banks of the said River; and also to do, perform, and execute, all other Matters and Things requisite and necessary, useful or convenient, for erecting and building, maintaining, supporting, and improving, the said intended Bridge, according to the Tenor and true Meaning of this Act, they the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, and the Persons to be by them employed or appointed as aforesaid, doing as little Damage as may be, and making such Satisfaction as is herein-after mentioned to the respective Owners and Occupiers of such Houses, Lands, and Grounds, as shall be altered, damaged, spoiled, taken, or made use of, by Means or for the Purposes of this present Act.
II How the Bridge shall be built.
'II. And, to the Intent the Navigation of the said RiverThames may not in anywise be prejudiced or obstructed, and that the Road over the said Bridge may be made convenient, safe, and commodious,' be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said new Bridge shall consist of such Number of Arches as the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, shall think proper and requisite, and that the Span of the Center Arch of the said Bridge shall be at least Thirty-four Feet, the Height of the said Arch half its Diameter, and the Center of the said Arch at least Two Feet and Six Inches above the Bed of the River; and that the Coach and Footways over the said Bridge shall together be at least Twenty-nine Feet wide, and be properly guarded on each Side by a Stone Fence, and that the said Bridge shall be fenced on each Side with Stone; and no House or Building shall be set up, erected, or built, upon the said Bridge, except a Toll-house or Toll-houses, in case the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, shall judge it requisite and necessary for the Purposes of this Act.
III Mayor, &c. to appoint Officers,
III. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, by any Writing under their Common Seal, shall and may elect and appoint a Clerk or Clerks, Treasurer or Treasurers, Receiver or Receivers, Collector or Collectors, of the Tolls herein-after directed to be taken, and also a Surveyor or Surveyors; and from Time to Time, as they shall see Occasion, remove such Officers, and appoint new Ones, in case of such Removals or Death; and out of the Money arising by virtue of this Act, shall and may make such Allowances to the said respective officers, and other Persons, employed by them in pursuance of this Act, for their Care and Pains, as to the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, shall seem reasonable; and such Clerk or Clerks, Treasurer or Treasurers, Receiver or Receivers, Collector or Collectors, and every of them, shall, from Time to Time, when thereunto required, at any Meeting of the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, or at any other Time to be by them for that Purpose ordered and appointed, deliver in upon Oath, (which Oath any Two of them are hereby impowered to administer), a true, exact, and perfect Account, in Writing, under their respective Hands, of all Monies which he or they respectively shall to such Time have received and disbursed by virtue of this Act on account of his or their Office or respective Offices, and also the Vouchers for the Payments made by them respectively: And in case the said Clerks, Treasurers, Receivers, or Collectors, or any of them, shall neglect or refuse to make and deliver such Accounts in Manner aforesaid, or shall not pay the Money remaining, and deliver all Books, Papers, and Writings, in their Custody or Power, relating to the Execution of this Act, or the Matters therein contained, and which shall then be in his or their Hand or Hands, unto the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, or such Person or Persons as they shall, by Writing under their Common Seal impower to receive the same; then, and in either of the said Cases, any Two or more Justices of the Peace for the said County ofBerks , or Town of Maidenhead , shall make Inquiry of and concerning such Default, in a summary Way, as well by the Confession of the Parties themselves as by the Testimony of One or more Witness or Witnesses, upon Oath, (which Oath the said Justices are hereby required and impowered to administer); and if any Person or Persons shall be thereof convicted, such Justices shall commit the Party or Parties offending to the County Gaol, there to remain, without Bail or Mainprize, until he or they shall have made a true and perfect Account and Payment as aforesaid, or shall have compounded for the same, and paid the Composition-money to the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, (which Composition they, or the major Part of them, are hereby impowered to make and receive), or until he or they shall have delivered up such Books, Papers, and Writings, or given Satisfaction in respect of the same, to the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them.
IV Gates to be erected, and Tolls taken.
'IV. And, in Consideration of the great Expence that will attend the building the said Bridge, and the repairing and supporting the same, and the making the said Roads, Ways, and Passages, and the keeping the same in good Repair, and of the Loss which the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, will sustain by the ceasing of the several Tolls which at present they are intitled to take and receive by virtue of the aforesaid Charters,' be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said new Bridge, while in building, and when built, shall be the property of, and is hereby vested in, the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, for the Time being, for ever; and that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said Mayor, Bridge-masters, and Burgesses, or the major Part of them, from Time to Time, and at all Times for ever hereafter, to erect, or cause to be erected, a Gate or Gates, and also a Toll-house or Toll-houses, at, upon, or near, the said...
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