Everything you need to know about Waterloo Bridge!
The Waterloo Bridge was yet another of the many magnificent London bridges built to cross the River Thames. The famous English bridge in the minds of every compatriot, and, perhaps, the inhabitants of other countries, is connected more with the French emperor than with the UK. It is the famous Waterloo, stretched between the banks of the Thames, connecting Westminster and Lambeth. At one time, Waterloo was considered as one of the most beautiful European bridges.Noteworthy is the fact that this bridge is the longest in London. All the subsequent bridges were built of steel, Waterloo was the first reinforced concrete bridge.
Waterloo Bridge History:
It is symbolic that modern Waterloo was opened in the year of victory over one world invader — Hitler, that is, in 1945, on the site of the bridge of the same name, named in honour of the victory over another invader — Napoleon — in the Battle of Waterloo. Got its name in honour of the victory of the British troops at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Waterloo was opened on its second anniversary. The old bridge was made of granite, had 9 arches, divided by double Greek-Doric columns. Each arch was of 120 feet, that is 36.6 m span. Waterloo bridge height is 67 metres and it is 266 metres long.
The first version of Waterloo, created by the project of J. Rennie, was unsuccessful and constantly needed repair work. Therefore, in 1878, Waterloo was nationalized, transferred to MBW for reconstruction and care and opened it for free use. It did not help, the bridge was constantly broken, and the first Waterloo had to be destroyed.
There were not enough men, therefore, the construction was carried out mainly by women’s hands, therefore modern Waterloo is often called ladies’ bridge. The new Waterloo Bridge has become one of the many magnificent London bridges built to cross the River Thames. Pedestrian and transport, it is located between the Blackfriarsky and Gangerfordsky bridges of London.
View from Waterloo Bridge:
View from Waterloo is considered the best of all the London species from the ground level.The construction of the new Waterloo under G. Scott’s project, which began in 1942, ended in 1945 — in just three years — despite the serious difficulties of the war period. This time the bridge turned out to be not only beautiful, but also very functional.There are transport and pedestrian lanes, convenient road marking. The bridge allows a 10-minute walk from Waterloo Station to Covent Garden.
Crossing the River Thames at the point of its bend, the Waterloo construction provides an opportunity to view the whole of London, located at the top and bottom. Here you need to take a photo for memory — after the bridge opens wonderful landscapes, and all the famous objects of the city — the Ferris wheel, Big Ben, the skyscrapers of the City, Canary Wharf, are visible as in the palm of your hand. At the bridge, there is the “Cleopatra’s Needle” — a granite Egyptian obelisk, built around 1500 BC and previously located in front of the temple in Heliopolis.
Waterloo Bridge at Night
It provides a beautiful view to lovers, romantics and aesthetes. However, it also attracted those who decided to voluntarily say goodbye to life. In 1840, 15% of suicides in the city fell on Waterloo. In 1841, there was a tragic incident with the American stuntman Samuel Scott. While portraying the runaway from the gallows, he was preparing to jump into the river effectively, but accidentally and unexpectedly hung in a loop. The participants decided that this was part of the trick, and they took the American out of the snare very late. On the bridge, there was also a resonant murder of Gregory Markov — a Bulgarian dissident. He was “accidentally” pricked with an umbrella poisoned with ricin.
Waterloo crosses the Thames at the point where it makes a right-angle bend. Therefore, the Waterloo Bridge is one of the best places to see the centre of London: it is also well visible that it is located upstream of the Thames — Westminster and South Bank, London Eye, and what is below — the skyscrapers of the City and Canary Worfe.
World cinema, too, did not ignore the Waterloo Bridge. In 1940, when Europe was already engulfed by the flames of World War II, a film with Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor appeared on the screens. Talking about the love of a ballerina and an English officer, whose acquaintance occurred on the Waterloo Bridge during the bombing of the First World War, the film made empathy more than one generation. Having glorified the bridge, the picture was included in the list of “501 picture that you should see.”
How To Get There:
There are many transportation services available, but i will recommend Waterloocars.co.uk for London Airport transfers, you can book your ride in advance if you are coming from outside of London.
Last Words:
Despite the sad stories associated with the bridge, Waterloo will forever remain a strict symbol of the British capital and symbols of London. A French engineer who visited London wrote that if all the monuments were destroyed, then “… the Waterloo bridge built in the centre of the trading world will exist to say to the most remote generations:” Here was a rich, hardworking and powerful city. “Among the sights of London, the Waterloo Bridge occupies a special place. It does not impress with its architecture, like some other bridges, but its value in a historical sense.
Waterloo attracts not only aesthetes of London, but connoisseurs of beauty from all over the world. Waterloo is very elegant. Its supports seem to be narrowed upwards, and the beam spans are made as much as possible like arches. In addition, the spans touch the supports only along their edges — but, between the pillars of the bridge and its central sections, there is a void that makes the space under the bridge uniform and lighter. All this gives the bridge some airiness and lightness.
Strict lines of the bridge hide in themselves the memory of those times when it was created. In sightseeing tours around the capital of the United Kingdom, it is mandatory to visit this bridge. It is preferable to do it in the evening. The view of the Thames from the shore, illuminated by the fires of the Waterloo Bridge overhanging the water, will be remembered for its mystery.
