Place Name
The road was officially named in 1930, with the construction of a new section of the Upper Richmond Road but the origins go back much further to the 15thCentury. It is believed to be where priests from the Wimbledon parish church crossed the Beverley Brook when visiting Mortlake. The first written record was as Prestbrig in 1479 becoming Prists Bridge in 1525. Mary Grimwade and Charles Hailstone in Highways and Byways of Barnes say that from the 18thCentury “rustic corruptions occur”. These included Peace Bridge, Piece Bridge, and even Peas Bridge. Such names were still in use by older residents up until the 1940s. Has previously been spelt Priest’s Bridge but today does not have an apostrophe.
