A Brief History
On August 1, 1831, the new London bridge spanning the River Thames in central London, was completed. Replacing a medieval stone arch bridge, the new bridge was also of stone arch construction and is what we normally think of when “London Bridge” is referred to.
Digging Deeper
Prior to 1176 a series of wooden bridges had spanned the Thames, but the sturdy construction of the stone bridge completed in 1176 would last over 650 years. This “old” bridge was built with a chapel in the middle dedicated to Thomas Becket and had shops crowded along its way. A drawbridge section allowed the passage of tall masted ships as well. This version of the bridge took 33 years to complete, and cost so much money that special taxes were required to fund it. With a length of 900 feet and a width of 26 feet, the bridge was equipped with public toilets for pedestrians and private toilets for shop keepers. A variety of other buildings were also built on the bridge, including houses up to 7 stories high! Some of these buildings burned or were destroyed and replaced over the years, giving the bridge a changing profile.
Historical fact: From 1305 to 1660 a common sight for users of the bridge were the severed heads of people convicted of treason, often dipped in tar and placed on pikes.
By 1758 things had become so crowded on the bridge with the growth of London’s population and importance in the world, that all houses were ordered to be taken down. In order to accommodate larger ships, the 2 center arches were replaced by a single, larger arch.
These improvements could not keep up with the need for a larger bridge, and in 1824 construction of a new stone arch bridge 100 feet from the old one was started. Completed in 1831, the new bridge was 928 feet long and 49 feet wide. Widened by another 13 feet in 1896, the bridge was rapidly proving inadequate for the needs of Londoners.
In 1968 the famous bridge and national treasure was sold to an Arizona businessman, dismantled, and reassembled in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where it stands today as a tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, from 1967 to 1972 construction of a new steel and concrete bridge was engaged and the new bridge was dedicated in 1973.
Referring back to our headline, the nursery rhyme “London Bridge is falling down…” hearkens back to the collapses of the old wooden bridges and the T.S. Eliot poem, The Wasteland, also refers to London Bridge.
London Bridge has long been an iconic symbol of the city of London. Question for students (and subscribers): What other bridges do you think of as being representative of another city? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please read…
Pierce, Patricia. Old London Bridge: The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe. Headline Book Publishing, 2002.
