Cookham, on the south bank of the River Thames has existed as a settlement for many thousands of years but the first recorded river crossing there was the Camlet Way, a Roman road. Camlet Way crossed the Thames at Hedsor Wharf and the remains of a Roman bridge were discovered there in the 19th century. The bridge fell into disrepair after the departure of the Romans in the early 5th century. Several ferry sites were established and even formed part of the Great West Road until the construction of Maidenhead Bridge in 1280, but it was another 1,400 years before a bridged crossing at Cookham was seriously in prospect again.