to make it a free bridge 'forever'. However, in spite of his endowments, for some years in the 18th century certain tolls were reimposed under the authority of the mayor and aldermen of the borough. The bridge was described in 1710 "The great Wooden Bridge hath 20 interstices: two in the middle wide enough for barges...it had 22 pierres [piers] of Wood and had in the middle two fair Seates for Passengers to avoid Carts and to sit and enjoy the delightfull Prospect". The bridge's state of repair became increasingly problematic by the early 19th century. It had become increasingly dilapidated and its narrowness made passage difficult both for river and road traffic. Pressure mounted for it to be rebuilt but no agreement could be reached on who would be responsible or who would pay for it. The courts became involved in 1813 but were overtaken by events in January 1814, when part of the bridge collapsed due to a severe frost. The court ordered Kingston to repair the bridge from its own resources but a complete replacement was by that time clearly necessary. 1828 bridge In 1825 Kingston Corporation notified the City of London Corporation Navigation Committee that it intended to build a new bridge. An Act of Parliament was passed in the same year to authorise construction. The corporation planned to erect a cast-iron bridge, and an architectural competition was held with a prize of 100 guineas. The winner was John Burges Watson, with a design for a bridge of three equal arches. However, concerns over the rising cost of iron led to the abandonment of the scheme, and it was decided instead to build a stone bridge in the classical style to a design by Edward Lapidge, the county surveyor. The first stone was laid by the Earl of Liverpool at a ceremony on 7 November 1825 and the bridge was opened by the Duchess of Clarence (the future Queen Adelaide) on 17 July 1828. The approach road to the east was named Clarence Street in her honour. The new bridge, about upstream from its predecessor, was built of Portland stone: comprising five elliptical arches. The centre arch enclosed a span, in height, and the side arches then in span progressively from the centre. The abutments were terminated by towers or bastions, and the whole surmounted by a cornice and balustrade, with galleries projecting over the pier;