The Bridges of London

Just like any city that has been built on rivers — in our case, the river is of course the Thames — bridges play a vital part in the formation of architectural landscape of London. Actually, they are so important for the proper functioning of the city that some of the most famous areas here include a –bridge in their names, like Knigthsbridge, Redbridge or Uxbridge.

Some of London bridges are pretty old, others are newer but built on the place of previous structures, and there are those that have been constructed in recent times and are rather astonishing examples of architectural design both in terms of practical use and style. All bridges of London however have one thing in common — they are all pretty great. Naturally, they are so many in numbers that it would not be possible to describe the full list, especially bearing in mind the fact that in addition to those over The Thames, there are many bridges on the smaller rivers on the territory of the metropolitan area too. So, let’s just focus our attention on some of the most spectacular ones.

1. Tower Bridge is of course the one we should start from. The reason for that? Well, Tower Bridge is not simply a river crossing — it is one of the most famous symbols of London at the present moment. Have you ever noticed that when a foreign film takes place in London, the way the film-makers choose to show the locating is by showing Tower Bridge? A famous tourist attraction, the bridge was constructed in the period between 1886 and 1894. Owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estate, Tower Bridge rises at 65 meters and has a total length of 244 meters. There is both a section to carry road traffic and a pedestrian walk on the bridge.

2) Talking about historical landmarks and bridges, one cannot miss to mention the London Bridge. Specialists argue that it is actually the location of the first bridge ever to be built across the Thames. There was a London Bridge for as long a time as there was London as a settlement. Naturally, it is not the original structure that stands today too. The current bridge was actually constructed in the second half of the 20th century — between 1967 and 1972 by architect Lord Holford and engineers Mott, Hay and Anderson. A famous accident happened in 1984, when the ship HMS Jupiter collided with the bridge and caused quite serious damage to the structural integrity of the facility and to the ship itself. On top of everything else, the predecessors of the current London Bridge have been heavily featured in popular culture and literature, most significantly in T.S. Elliot’s masterpiece poem The Waste Land and the popular nursery rhyme The London Bridge is Falling Down.

3) Westminster Bridge is a road and foot-traffic bridge that connects Westminster and Lambeth. It has a very distinct look due to the fact that most of it is painted in green. It was officially opened in 1862, even though works on permissions for its construction was underway for over two centuries before that. Today Westminster Bridge has a Grade II listing. Much like Tower Bridge it is a very popular tourist attraction for a number of reasons, including its central location, the access it provides to major landmarks like the London Eye and the City, as well as the fact that the London Marathon traditionally crosses the Thames through here. Westmister Bridge is one of the bridges in London that sustains the most traffic, so it is good news it was thoroughly renovated and refurbished less than a decade ago, in 2007.

4) It often happens so that architectural structures — buildings, bridges etc. are built in order to commemorate the reign of some of our nation’s monarchs. Such a bridge is the Queen Elizabeth II’s bridge which was opened by the Queen in 1991. This one however does not have the aim of just glorifying the reigning monarch. Quite the contrary — Queen Elizabeth II’s bridge serves a rather practical purpose of sustaining much of the ever-increasing traffic on the Dartford Crossing.

5) Richmond Bridge is a stone bridge in Richmond upon Thames that was completed in 1777, which makes it one of the oldest bridges still standing in London. Richmond Bridge is much smaller than those we are mentioned up until now, and it deserves to be listed here because it not only rather old, but also very beautiful. Richmond Bridge has a stone arc structure. It runs at 91 meters in length and 11 meters in width. The central span is what is truly unique here. It was built to be taller than both side — some 18 meters — because the architects wanted water-traffic to run under it unobstructed. This gives the Richmond Bridge it distinct humpbacked appearance that many people associate with both the structure and the whole area of Richmond which as you well know already is among the finest residential districts in the capital at the present moment.

6) Albert Bridge, named after Prince Albert, is the most notable bridge in Chelsea. It was completed in 1873 and only a couple of decades later had to be redeveloped and further strengthened because the original structure did not prove to be sound enough to be safe. Originally the idea was that it is going to be a toll bridge, but the plan did not work out the way it was expected. Albert Bridge was not commercially viable, and the toll booths stopped operating only several weeks after the opening of the bridge. The booths themselves however remain to this day on their original place. This is the only place where you can still see remains of the toll bridge system in London at its original location, so don’t miss your chance. Albert Bridge is a Grade II listed building and as such it is part of the cultural, historical and architectural heritage of the capital.