The full list of names considered for the new bridge at Rickmansworth Aquadrome has been revealed following a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Residents were asked to select from a list of five names, and the winner, Aquadrome Bridge, was confirmed last month.
The other names that were on the shortlist – Harry Walker Bridge, Ebury Bridge, Colne View Bridge and Ann Shaw Bridge – could have been joined by a further four.
William Penn Bridge, Batchworth Lake Bridge, George Eliot Bridge and Barbara Owen Bridge were all considered but did not make into the final shortlist that could be voted on by residents.
Aquadrome Bridge won with 113 votes against 103 for Harry Walker Bridge, 76 for Ann Shaw Bridge, 69 for Colne View Bridge and 63 for Ebury Bridge.
The council’s joint leadership team – made up of senior officers and councillors – agreed that Aquadrome Bridge should be confirmed as the name for the new bridge.
The new bridge, which is almost 50 metres long, is almost twice the width of the previous crossing and was installed in March.
The council could not say how much was spent on the public consultation for the naming of the bridge because all work was carried out by in-house staff – though they did confirm that £49.60 had been spent advertising the survey on Facebook.
An email sent by a project officer at Three Rivers District Council on 7 January confirmed that the shortlist at that point was: Walkers Bridge; Ebury Bridge; Colne View Bridge; William Penn Bridge; and Ann Shaw Bridge. Aquadrome Bridge was not being considered at that point.
According to another email, the revised list – replacing William Penn Bridge with Aquadrome Bridge – was agreed by the leader of the council, Stephen Giles-Medhurst, following consultations with Batchworth councillors.
William Penn was a Quaker who founded Pennsylvania in what is now the United States of America. He married in Chorleywood and lived in Rickmansworth for a time, and his name already adorns several places in Three Rivers.
Of the other names that did not make it into the shortlist, George Eliot – whose real name was Mary Ann Evans – stayed in Rickmansworth in 1875 to write her celebrated novel, Daniel Deronda, while Barbara Owen was fondly referred to as ‘Mrs Rickmansworth’ for her community work during her life. She served as chair of Three Rivers Museum Trust, was a former teacher at St Clement Danes and was awarded an MBE in 2012 for her services to heritage.
Three Rivers Museum Trust had said Walkers Bridge, referencing W. H. Walker & Bros who had first opened the gravel pits as a public space in 1914, was their “strong preference” but recognised that the public would decide the name.
A Three Rivers District Council spokesperson said they had been “delighted” to see people responding to the bridge name survey.
They continued: “The council would like to thank everyone for their name suggestions, and a huge thank you to those who took part in the survey.
“The Aquadrome Bridge is a fitting name for the new bridge that will provide greater accessibility for generations to come.
“The Rickmansworth Aquadrome is a highly valued nature reserve, and that is why the council will continue to restore, improve and safeguard the site for wildlife and visitors.”
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