[2][3] Designs for the bridge were completed by 1939 by Sir Edwin Lutyens in concert with consulting engineer H Fitzsimons.

World War II intervened, delaying construction by 20 years; Lutyens having died in 1944, his colleague George Stewart served as consulting architect, adopting the 1939 design.

The bridge has a single span of 173.5 feet (52.9 m) across the Thames with 18 encased steel arches bearing the load of a concrete deck.

The architectural treatment of the bridge was considered of great importance because of its proximity to Runnymede (the water-meadow) and the structure is finished with hand-made brick facings, white cement and Portland stone.

[2][6] It is a single arch bridge of approximately the same form, but is made up of a series of parallel concrete frames: these allow light to penetrate upwards underneath and transfer loads vertically to avoid disturbing the foundations of the westerly bridge companion.