The bridge has been the subject of many paintings and prints by artists and is a Grade II listed building.

In the 18th century, the bridge presumably gave Dick Turpin a convenient escape route from Berkshire to Oxfordshire when he was staying at his aunt's inn in Sonning.

[3] At the beginning of the 20th century, there were complaints about traction engines causing structural problems with the old wooden backwater bridges at Sonning and disturbing the peace.

An additional bridge to relieve the traffic problems has been a subject of debate for many years.

[6][7] Beginning in the second decade of the 21st century, the anonymous artist Impro has affixed a series of objects to a supporting buttress of the bridge: the frontage of a letterbox (2013),[8][9] a front door with floating doormat (2016),[10] a telephone labelled "Emergency Flood Line" (2021), another postbox (2022),[11] a urinal (2023).