The first railway line to Richmond opened in 1846, but the London & South Western Railway soon decided to extend it to Staines and Windsor. This entailed building a bridge over the Thames, and the Richmond, Windsor & Staines Railway Bridge, as it was originally called, was the result. It was designed by the company's engineer, Joseph Locke, and the work was carried out by Thomas Brassey. The bridge opened in August 1848 and consisted of three spans of cast iron, and the piers were cased in stone. On the Surrey side the approach is over a viaduct of seven brick arches through Richmond Deer Park.






In 1891 a cast-iron bridge of similar design in Norbury collapsed. The Richmond bridge was therefore replaced by a very similar steel structure in 1908.The engineer, J. W. Jacomb-Hood, used the old piers and abutments, thus retaining the original appearance of the bridge. The new structure is now actually two separate bridges, each carrying one line of track. Further major work was carried out in 1984, when the main girders and decking were replaced.