Eaton Footbridge is a wooden footbridge across the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, England. It is situated on the reach above Grafton Lock

Grafton Lock

Grafton Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England on the northern bank between Kelmscott and Radcot Oxfordshire. The lock was built by the Thames Conservancy in 1896.The weir is on the other side of the lock island at the upstream end....

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The bridge was built in 1936 on the site of the last flash lock

Flash lock

Early locks were designed with a single gate, known as a flash lock or staunch lock. The earliest European references to what were clearly flash locks were in Roman times....

on the river which was in a weir known as Hart’s Weir. The weir and lock, the last remaining on the Thames, were removed that year leaving the mooring cuts which are still in use. There was a lock keeper at the weir and a walkway across which is the precedent for the current bridge. The flash lock was notoriously difficult and Thacker quotes H W Taunt "I recollect one winter in passing this very weir, when lying on my back in the boat to get through, scraping a fair amount of skin off my nose and face though contact with the bridge whilst going uder it".