High Bridge
As part of Reading’s investment in their bridges over the last four years, VolkerLaser has recently completed parapet repairs on High Bridge for Reading Borough Council.
What we did
High Bridge is an 18th Century, Grade II listed arch bridge, which spans over the River Kennett. The bridge is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Over the centuries, the bridge’s stone parapets have deteriorated due to weathering and salt crystallisation, affecting the structural integrity.
The essential restoration works began in July 2024 and took place over 17 weeks, using 1.7m³ of Portland Stone across 64 stone replacements required to restore the integrity of the bridge. The full scope of works included repairs to the existing stone parapets, temporary works for safety, and extensive traffic and river management.
To begin, temporary works were installed over the river to create a safe working platform behind the parapets, while a lifting beam was incorporated to support the movement of stones. This included the full encapsulation of the installed scaffolding, designed to prevent any work pollution from affecting the river below.
With access in situ, we contracted Cliveden Conservation, a specialist stonemasonry company. Before the start of any rehabilitation works, a Scheduled Monument consent was obtained by the client from Historic England before work commenced, due to the bridge's listed and Scheduled Ancient Monument status. A site visit and assessment was carried out to ensure that all restoration activities adhered to the strict regulations for scheduled monuments. The parapets also underwent a steam clean to remove the moss and algae build up, making it easier to repair and restore, but also revealing a more extensive programme of works. This required a change in methodology, with significant sections of each parapet needing to be dismantled - this was proposed by Cliveden Conservation, agreed by our in-house engineers and contracted engineers, Stantec. An updated specification and methodology was then presented to Historic England.
The project was split into two phases: west and east. In both phases, the Cliveden Conservation team dismantled sections of the parapet to address the areas where the stone had significantly deteriorated. The coping stones, which sit at the top of the parapets were carefully removed, exposing the inner structure made up of various die blocks and a solid central panel with stones placed around. Where necessary, the team cut out the stone sections that need repairing and used Portland Stone to restore the damaged sections. In some areas, only the front face was replaced due to partial degradation and stainless-steel dowel bars were installed to reinforce the repaired stones.
One challenge our team encountered was the bridge’s leaning parapets. Over time, part of the parapets had deviated from its vertical axis by 65mm. To address this, a section of the wall had to be dismantled down to road level and rebuilt using the same stone.
During the installation and dismantling of scaffolding and moving from phase one to phase two, full night-time closures of the bridge were implemented over three nights, with the road reopened each morning to minimise disruption. To lift the scaffolding beam in and out of place, a crane was brought in, requiring additional road closures. Temporary two-way traffic lights were used during the day to maintain traffic flow while ensuring the safety of workers and the public. The careful planning and execution of traffic management ensured minimal disruption to the public while allowing the essential restoration works to proceed.
Finally, the team from Cliveden Conservation also reinscribed the original date the bridge was built onto the newly installed stones, preserving the bridge’s historical identity.
The works were completed to time and budget demonstrating the value of effective collaboration with Reading Borough council, Cliveden Conservation and Stantec.
“The Grade II listed High Bridge was built in 1787 of Portland Stone to replace an earlier bridge, which allowed traffic from the road network to the south direct access to the “new” Market Place established closer to the Abbey. Maintaining that history is critically important for our town as it is a key landmark of our past. High Bridge’s ancient pedestrian walls, or parapets, had deteriorated to the point where action had to be taken to repair them, and we’re delighted with the result of the work performed by our contractor VolkerLaser. Despite the challenges of sympathetically restoring and repairing such an old and historic bridge, the work was completed on budget, on time and to a high standard and has ensured an important crossing point has been preserved.”
Karen Rowland Lead Councillor for environmental services and community safety
