[4] Although a ferry had almost certainly existed at the site of the present-day bridge since Norman times,[5] the earliest known crossing of the river at Richmond dates from 1439.

[7] However, due to the steepness of the hill leading to the shore-line on the Surrey side neither ferry service was able to transport carriages or heavily laden carts,[8] forcing them to make a very lengthy detour via Kingston Bridge.

[4] In the 18th century Richmond and neighbouring Twickenham on the opposite bank of the Thames, both of which were distant from London but enjoyed efficient transport links to the city via the river, became extremely fashionable, and their populations began to grow rapidly.

[4] As the ferry was unable to handle large loads and was often cancelled due to weather conditions, the river crossing became a major traffic bottleneck.

3. c. 83) was passed by Parliament, selecting 90 commissioners, including landscape architect Lancelot "Capability" Brown, historian and politician Horace Walpole and playwright and actor David Garrick, to oversee the construction of a stone bridge on the site of the ferry.

The act stipulated that no tax of any sort could be used to finance the bridge, and fixed a scale of tolls, ranging from ½d for a pedestrian to 2s 6d for a coach drawn by six horses (about 50p and £20 respectively in 2025).

However, the Dowager Duchess of Newcastle refused to allow the approach road on the Middlesex bank to pass through her land at Twickenham Park,[14] and the commission was forced to build on the site of the ferry, despite a steep 1 in 16 (6.25%) incline.

The tall 60-foot (18 m) wide central span was designed to allow shipping to pass, giving Richmond Bridge a distinctive humpbacked appearance.

[24] James Paine proudly illustrated it among the designs in the second volume of his Plans, Elevations, and Sections of Noblemen and Gentlemen's Houses, 1783.

[25] Richmond Bridge was the subject of paintings by many leading artists, including Thomas Rowlandson, John Constable and local resident J. M. W.

Commuting to central London became feasible and affordable, leading to further population growth in the previously relatively isolated Richmond and Twickenham areas.

[30] By the early 20th century the bridge was proving inadequate for the increasing traffic, particularly with the introduction of motorised transport, and a 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) speed limit was enforced.

[31] With the remaining investment income from tolls insufficient to pay for major reconstruction, on 31 March 1931 the bridge was taken into the joint public ownership of Surrey and Middlesex councils, and proposals were made to widen it.

[32] The plans were strongly opposed on aesthetic grounds, and the decision was taken to build instead a new bridge a short distance downstream to relieve traffic pressure.

[33] The Richmond Society, a local pressure group, protested at the change to the character of the bridge, and succeeded in forcing the council to retain the Victorian gas lamp-posts, converted to electric light, which remain in place today.

On 20 March 1964, three boats tied together at Eel Pie Island, 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) upstream, broke from their moorings in a storm and were swept downstream, colliding with the bridge.

[17] On 30 January 1987, the Brave Goose, the £3,500,000 yacht of National Car Parks founder Sir Donald Gosling, became wedged under the central arch of the bridge, eventually being freed at low tide the next day.

Its bicentenary was celebrated on 7 May 1977; the commemoration was held four months after the actual anniversary of 12 January, to avoid poor weather conditions.