The bridge was named after Sir William Gentle, a benefactor of the town and was opened by HRH Prince of Wales in 1999. Sir William retired to Thetford, where he was four times mayor and in 1938 was High Sheriff of Norfolk. Immediately upstream of the bridge, the river was widened to form Thetford swimming pool, which remained in use until the 1970s when an indoor pool was built. You can still see the concrete walls of the pool.
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