1.

History
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in centra London. Situated between Cannon Street Rai way Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the !oo of London. "n the south side of the bridge are Southwark Cathedra and London Bridge station# on the north side are the $onument to the %reat &ire of London and $onument tube station. 't was the on y bridge over the Thames downstream from (ingston unti !utney Bridge o)ened in 1*+,. The current bridge o)ened on 1* $arch 1,*- and is the atest in a succession of bridges to occu)y the s)ot and c aim the name. The bridge carries )art of the .- road, which is maintained by the %reater London .uthority# the bridge itse f is owned and maintained by Bridge House /states 0see City Bridge Trust1, an inde)endent charity overseen by the City of London Cor)oration. The area between London Bridge and Tower Bridge on the south side of the Thames is a business im)rovement district 0B'21 and is managed by Team London Bridge.3-4 . bridge has e5isted at or near the )resent site since the Roman occu)ation near y +666 years ago. The first bridge across the Thames in the London area, )robab y a mi itary )ontoon bridge, was bui t of wood by the Romans on the )resent site around .2 76. .round .2 77, a )i ed bridge was constructed, and the Romans bui t a sma trading sett ement ne5t to it8the town of Londinium. The sett ement and the bridge were destroyed in a revo t ed by 9ueen Boudicca in :6. Her victory was short; ived, and soon afterwards the Romans defeated the rebe s and set about bui ding a new wa ed town. Some of the +nd;century Roman wa has survived to this day. The new town and bridge were bui t around the )osition of the )resent bridge, and gave access to the south;coast )orts via Stane Street and <at ing Street 0the .+1. The bridge fe into disre)air after the Romans eft. .s Londinium was a so abandoned, there was itt e need for a bridge at this )oint, and in the Sa5on )eriod the river was a boundary between the hosti e kingdoms of $ercia and <esse5. <ith the im)act of the =iking invasions, the recon>uest of the Roman city by the kings of <esse5 and its reoccu)ation by . fred the %reat, the )o itica conditions arose for a Sa5on bridge to be bui t here. However there is no archaeo ogica evidence for a bridge before .ethe red?s reign and his attem)ts to stem the Sweinian invasions of the ,,6s. . much ater ska dic tradition states that the bridge was )u ed down by

the @orwegian )rince " af in 161A, to assist the .ng o;Sa5on (ing .ethe red to divide the forces of the 2anes who he d the wa ed City of London and Southwark, on either side of the river# thus regaining London. This e)isode has been thought to have ins)ired the we ;known nursery rhyme BLondon Bridge is &a ing 2ownB.3A4 The ear iest contem)orary written reference to a Sa5on bridge is in 161:, when it was by;)assed by (ing Cnut?s shi)s in his war to regain the throne from /dmund '' B'ronsideB. The rebui t @orman London Bridge was destroyed in 16,1 by a storm that s)awned a TCD&A tornado, which a so struck St $ary; e;Bow, and is known as the London Tornado of 16,1.374 The re)air or re) acement of this was carried out by <i iam '' BRufusB through forced abour, a ong with the works at the new St !au ?s Cathedra and the deve o)ment of the Tower of London. 't was destroyed yet again, this time by fire, in 11-:.

1.1 B" dB 0$edieva 1 London Bridge

.n engraving by C aes =an =isscher showing " d London Bridge in 1:1:, with what is now Southwark Cathedra in the foreground. The s)iked heads of e5ecuted crimina s can be seen above the Southwark gatehouse. &o owing the 11-: destruction, some rebui ding was carried out during the reign of Ste)hen, )resumab y a ong the same ines as those instituted by <i iam Rufus. "n Henry ''?s accession, there was an attem)t to regu arise its maintenance by the institution of a nationa monastic gui d to su))ort this work. There is evidence that there were a so un icensed oca gui ds in London with the same )ur)ose. 'n 11:-, !eter de Co echurch was a))ointed as the B<arden of the Brethren of the BridgeB, and this seems to have combined a of the )receding ad hoc arrangements. 'n 11*-, !eter soon )ro)osed to re) ace the timber bridge with a stone one, a most certain y re>uired by the )o)u arity of the Thomas Becket cu t and the associated )i grimage from the bridge to Canterbury. Construction began under de Co echurch?s direction in 11*:. . cha)e was bui t near the centre of the bridge 0dedicated to the recent y martyred and canonised Becket who, a))ro)riate y, had been born in the )arish of St $ary Co echurch1. St. Thomas Cha)e was grander than hi;town )arish churches# it even had a river; eve entrance for fishermen and those who ta5ied )assengers across the river. The new bridge took -- years to com) ete and was finished in 1+6,, during the reign of (ing Eohn. Eohn icensed the bui ding of houses on the bridge, as a direct means of deriving revenue for its maintenance, and it was soon co onised by sho)s. The medieva bridge had 1, sma arches and a drawbridge with a defensive gatehouse at the southern end. Contem)orary )ictures show it crowded with bui dings of u) to seven stories in height. The narrowness of the arches meant that it acted as a )artia barrage over the Thames, restricting water f ow and thereby making the river more susce)tib e to freeFing over in winter because of the s ower currents. The current was further obstructed by the addition of waterwhee s 0designed by !eter $orice1 under the two north arches to drive water )um)s, and under the two south arches to )ower grain mi s. This )roduced ferocious ra)ids between the )iers or Bstar ingsB of the bridge, as the difference between the water eve s on each side cou d be as much as si5 feet 0two metres1.3:4 "n y the brave or foo hardy attem)ted to Bshoot the bridgeB8steer a boat between the star ings8and

many were drowned trying to do so. .s the saying went, the bridge was Bfor wise men to )ass over, and for foo s to )ass underB.3*4

This )edestrian a cove, now in =ictoria !ark, Tower Ham ets is one of the surviving fragments of the o d London Bridge that was demo ished in 1C-1. The decision of (ing Eohn to a ow sho)s to be bui t on London Bridge s owed down the traffic crossing the river. The houses and sho)s took u) s)ace and cou d draw crowds, and when carts broke down or anima s misbehaved, crossing the bridge cou d take u) to an hour. &or this reason, )eo) e on foot often chose to use the doFens of river ta5i boats that >uick y ferried Londoners from shore to shore. . though the bridge itse f was about +: feet 0C m1 wide, the bui dings on the bridge took u) about * feet 0+ m1 on each side of the street. Some of these bui dings )roGected another seven feet out over the river. The road for traffic was thereby reduced to Gust 1+ feet 0A m1 wide. This meant that horses, carts, wagons, and )edestrians a shared a )assageway Gust si5 feet wide, one ane going north and one south. There were a few ) aces where houses and sho)s were not bui t, which a owed )eo) e to get out of the traffic and enGoy a g im)se of the river and the shore ines of London. @ear y +66 ) aces of business ined both sides of the narrow street. . e and beer were not so d on the London bridge because these beverages re>uired ce ars, which were not )resent. The merchants ived above their sho)s and so d goods from the street; eve f oor. They used windows to show their goods and transact business# over each sho) hung a sign usua y in the sha)e of the artic es so d, in order that the i iterate cou d recognise the nature of the business. These signs were )osted high enough that a rider on a horse cou d )ass beneath them8 every inch of the sma street had to be avai ab e to vehicu ar traffic. $any of the to) f oors of the houses and sho)s were bui t over the street and actua y connected to the house or sho) across the street, giving the street a tunne ook. The gates to London Bridge were c osed at curfew, and the bridge was regarded as a safe ) ace to ive or sho). Located within the Gurisdiction of the City of London )arish of St $agnus and the Southwark )arish of St " ave, the Bridge community was a most a town unto itse f. 'n 1+CA, after many years of ega dis)ute, the City of London gained effective contro and instituted the Bridge House /states trust City Bridge Trust to maintain it from the o der revenues and new endowments. The Bridge House stemmed from the site of !eter de Co echurch?s origina BhouseB, i.e. maintenance de)ot and residence for his monastic Bbrethren of the bridgeB, ne5t to St " ave?s church in Southwark, a site sti marked by the street name BBridge HardB. 4

=arious arches of the bridge co a)sed over the years, and houses on the bridge were burnt during <at Ty er?s !easants? Revo t in 1-C1 and Eack Cade?s rebe ion in 1A76, during which a )itched batt e was fought on the bridge.

.rtist?s imaginative conce)tion of @onsuch House on London Bridge. The @orthern %ate, the @ew Stone %ate, was re) aced by @onsuch House in 17**. The southern gatehouse, the Stone %ateway, became the scene of one of London?s most notorious sightsI a dis) ay of the severed heads of traitors, im)a ed on )ikes314 and di))ed in tar to )reserve them against the e ements. The head of <i iam <a ace was the first to a))ear on the gate, in 1-67, starting a tradition that was to continue for another -77 years. "ther famous heads on )ikes inc uded those of Eack Cade in 1A76, Thomas $ore in 17-7, Bisho) Eohn &isher in the same year, and Thomas Cromwe in 17A6. 'n 17,C a %erman visitor to London !au HentFner counted over -6 heads on the bridge3C4I

"n the south is a bridge of stone eight hundred feet in ength, of wonderfu work# it is su))orted u)on twenty )iers of s>uare stone, si5ty feet high and thirty broad, Goined by arches of about twenty feet diameter. The who e is covered on each side with houses so dis)osed as to have the a))earance of a continued street, not at a of a bridge. K)on this is bui t a tower, on whose to) the heads of such as have been e5ecuted for high treason are ) aced on iron s)ikesI we counted above thirty..

The )ractice was fina y sto))ed in 1::6, fo owing the Restoration of (ing Char es ''. The bui dings on London Bridge created a maGor fire haFard and served to increase the oad on its arches, both of which may have contributed to the severa disasters on the bridge. 'n 1+1+, )erha)s the greatest of the ear y fires of London broke out on both ends of the bridge simu taneous y, tra))ing many in the midd e and re)orted y resu ting in the death of -,666 )eo) e. .nother maGor fire broke out in 1:--, destroying the northern third of the bridge, a though this )revented the bridge from being damaged by the %reat &ire of London in 1:::. By 1*++, congestion was becoming so serious that the Lord $ayor decreed that Ba carts,

coaches and other carriages coming out of Southwark into this City do kee) a a ong the west side of the said bridgeI and a carts and coaches going out of the City do kee) a ong the east side of the said bridgeB. This has been suggested as one )ossib e origin for the )ractice of traffic in Britain driving on the eft.3,4 &ina y, under an .ct of !ar iament dated Eune 1*7:, )ermission was obtained to demo ish a the sho)s and houses on London Bridge. 'n 1*7CM:+, the houses were removed a ong with the two centre arches, re) aced with a sing e wider s)an to im)rove navigation on the river.

2rawing of London Bridge from a 1:C+ ma).

1.+ B@ewB 01,th; century1 London Bridge

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@ew London Bridge in the ear y 1C,6s By the end of the 1Cth century, it was a))arent that the o d London Bridge 8 by then over :66 years o d 8 needed to be re) aced. 't was narrow and decre)it, and b ocked river traffic. 'n 1*,,, a com)etition for designs to re) ace the o d bridge was he d, )rom)ting the engineer Thomas Te ford to )ro)ose a bridge with a sing e iron arch s)anning :66 feet 01C6 m1. However this design was never used, because of uncertainty about its feasibi ity and the amount of and needed for its construction. The bridge was eventua y re) aced by a structure of five stone arches, designed by engineer Eohn Rennie. The new bridge was bui t 166 feet 0-6 m1 west 0u)stream1 of the origina site by Rennie?s son of the same name. <ork began in 1C+A and the foundation stone was aid, in the southern coffer dam, on 17 Eune 1C+7. The o d bridge continued in use whi e the new bridge was being bui t, and was demo ished after the atter o)ened in 1C-1. The scheme necessitated the bui ding of maGor new a))roach roads, which cost three times as much as the bridge itse f. The tota construction cost of around N+.7 mi ion 0N1C: mi ion as of +6111,3164 was met by the Cor)oration of London and government3clarification needed4. The contractors were Eo iffe and Banks of $erstham, Surrey. . fragment from the o d bridge is set into the tower arch inside St (atharine?s Church, $erstham. Rennie?s bridge had a ength of ,+C feet 0+C- m1 and a width of A, feet 017 m1. Haytor granite was used in the construction, trans)orted via the uni>ue Haytor %ranite Tramway. The officia o)ening took ) ace on 1 .ugust 1C-1# (ing <i iam '= and 9ueen .de aide attended a ban>uet in a )avi ion erected on the bridge. The recent y constructed HMS Beagle was the first shi) to )ass under it.

Corbe s for London bridge at Swe tor >uarry 'n 1C,:, it was estimated that the bridge was the busiest )oint in London, with C,666 )eo) e crossing the bridge on foot and ,66 crossing in vehic es every hour.314 London Bridge was widened in 1,6+M6A from 7+ to :7 feet 01: to +6 m1 in an attem)t to combat London?s chronic traffic congestion. . doFen of the granite B)i arsB >uarried and dressed for this widening, but unused, sti ie near Swe tor 9uarry on the disused rai way track a

cou) e of mi es south of !rincetown on 2artmoor. 'n the end, the widening work )roved too much for the bridge?s foundations# it was subse>uent y discovered that the bridge was sinking an inch 0about +.7 cm1 every eight years. By 1,+A, the east side of the bridge was some three to four inches 0about , cm1 ower than the west side# it soon became a))arent that this bridge wou d have to be removed and re) aced with a more modern one.

1.- Sa e of Rennie?s bridge to Robert $cCu och

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'n 1,:*, the Common Counci of the City of London ) aced the bridge on the market and began to ook for )otentia buyers. Counci member 'van Luckin had )ut forward the idea of se ing the bridge, and reca edI BThey a thought ' was com) ete y craFy when ' suggested we shou d se London Bridge when it needed re) acing.B "n 1C .)ri 1,:C, Rennie?s bridge was so d to the $issourian entre)reneur Robert !. $cCu och of $cCu och "i for KSO+,A:6,666. The c aim that $cCu och be ieved mistaken y that he was buying the more im)ressive Tower Bridge was denied by Luckin in a news)a)er interview.3114 .s the bridge was taken a)art, each )iece was numbered to aid re;assemb y. The bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, .riFona, and re;dedicated on 16 "ctober 1,*1. The reconstruction of Rennie?s London Bridge s)ans the Bridgewater Channe cana that eads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centre)iece of a theme )ark in /ng ish sty e, com) ete with a Tudor )eriod sho))ing ma . Rennie?s London Bridge has become .riFona?s second;biggest tourist attraction, after the %rand Canyon.31+4

Rennie's Old London Bridge during reconstruction at Lake Havasu in Marc 1!

1.A $odern London Bridge

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The current London Bridge was designed by $ott, Hay and .nderson. The senior engineer was . an Sim)son4, the su)erstructure was designed by a team ed by $ichae Leeming, and foundations by a team ed by (eith !ontin. The bridge was constructed by contractors Eohn $ow em and Co3174 from 1,:* to 1,*+, and o)ened by 9ueen / iFabeth '' on 1* $arch 1,*-.31:4 't com)rises three s)ans of )restressed; concrete bo5 girders, a tota of ,+C feet 0+C- m1 ong. The bridge?s ights were made from @a)o eon?s cannons. The bridge was bui t to be functiona and ong; ived, and, as such, it is noticeab y ess decorated than other Thames bridges. The cost of NA mi ion 0NA+.1 mi ion as of +6111,3164 was met entire y by the City Bridge Trust charity. The current bridge was bui t in the same ocation as Rennie?s bridge, with the )revious bridge remaining in use whi e the first two girders were constructed u)stream and downstream. Traffic was then transferred onto the two new girders, and the )revious bridge demo ished to a ow the fina two centra girders to be added.31*4 'n 1,CA, the British warshi) H$S Jupiter co ided with London Bridge, causing significant damage to both shi) and bridge. "n Remembrance 2ay +66A, various London bridges were furnished with red ighting as )art of a night;time f ight a ong the river by wartime aircraft. London Bridge was the one bridge not subse>uent y stri))ed of the i uminations, which are switched on at night. The current London Bridge is often shown in fi ms, news and documentaries showing the throng of commuters Gourneying to work into The City from London Bridge Station 0south to north1. . recent e5am) e of this is actor Hugh %rant crossing the bridge north to south during the morning rush hour, in the +66+ fi m About a Boy. "n Saturday 11 Eu y +66, an ?.nniversary &ayre? of activities invo ving the Livery Com)anies and the %ui dab e $anor and a so hosting a ?shee) drive?, took ) ace to commemorate the C66th .nniversary of the Co echurch Bridge?s com) etion.31C4 'n vau ts be ow the southern abutment of the bridge is ?The London Bridge /5)erience?.

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London Bridge with the %herkin in the background

+.Trans)ort
The nearest London Knderground stations are $onument and London Bridge. They are res)ective y at the northern and southern ends of the bridge. The London Bridge @ationa Rai station is a so nearby.

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-.%a ery

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A.Conc usion
.s a conc usion ' can say that the London Bridge re)resents the heart of London.'t is the furthest )oint downstream at which a bridge cou d be bui t over the Thames. 'n my o)inion the bridge has a great history and re)resents a trave )unst. ' think that what the /ng ish )eo) e do and how they advertise this bridge is a great way to attract )eo) e to /ng and. "n y the idea that it is one of the modern wonders makes you want to go and visit it. ' for one ho)e that someday ' wou d be ab e to go and admire the grand and im)osing bridge, and Gust have a moment of si ence for what those )eo) e doneP

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7.References

1.Eackson, !eter, BLondon Bridge ; . =isua HistoryB, Historica !ub ications, revised edition, +66+, +. $urray, !eter Q Stevens, $ary .nne, BLiving Bridges ; The inhabited bridge, )ast, )resent and futureB, Roya .cademy of .rts, London, 1,,:, -. !ierce, !atricia, B" d London Bridge ; The Story of the Longest 'nhabited Bridge in /uro)eB, Head ine Books, +661 A. Hee, . bert, BLondon Bridge ; !rogress 2rawingsB, no )ub isher, 1,*A

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