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It is probable, but no means certain, that the first bridge over the River Thames to what is now the City of London was built by the Romans. In Roman times the river was much wider, almost three times what it is today and consequently much shallower and there is some evidence that it would have been possible to ford the river at low tide.
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Even if it were possible to ford the river, as Roman Londinium grew in size and importance, the Roman engineers would have likely constructed one of their famous Legionary Bridges very similar to that in the artists impression to the right. It is known that a wooden bridge existed at the same spot throughout the Saxon Period until 1176 when the wooden structure was replaced in stone..
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The stone bridge, designed by Peter de Colechurch, was a magnificent structure of nineteen arches and took some 30 years to complete. It had a gatehouse and drawbridge at one end and a church dedicated to St. Thomas a'Becket. Within 200 years the bridge had amassed some 140 buildings some of which reached three storeys. The massive structure of the bridge acted as a partial barrier to the river restricting the flow to such an extent it allowed the Thames to freeze over in winter. It also created increased flow under the arches that facilitated the installation of water wheels like the one below |
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This water wheel, constructed by John Smeaton and installed in 1767, was known as the Borough Wheel. Located in the second arch at the south end of the bridge it was used as a pumping engine to provide river water to the population of Southwark until 1823 - YEEEEUUK! |
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Another painting of London Bridge, this time from the down stream side. One can see that it represented a barrier to shipping of any size. This fact was to ensure that all the commercial docklands grew up to the east of the bridge which also prevented a hostile enemy from sailing up the river past the bridge. That is of course if they made it past the guns of the Tower of London. |
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Colechurch's bridge survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, however one of the outcomes of the Great Fire was the ban on using thatch for roofing material. The consequent increase in weight of buildings with stone, tile or slate roofs was to seriously weaken the arches and foundations of the bridge along with further damage to the piers caused by the ice in winter meant that the buildings on the bridge had to be demolished.
London Bridge in 1795
London Bridge remained the only bridge across the River Thames until the building of the bridge at Putney in 1729 and by the early Victorian Period it was time to build a new one. The replacement bridge was designed and commenced by John Rennie Snr. on a site slightly to the west (upstream) of the old bridge, the work being completed under the direction of his son, Sir John Rennie Jnr. and was opened to traffic in 1831 whereupon the old bridge was demolished.
John Rennie's London Bridge opened in 1831
If you think that the traffic and pollution today is bad then just think that over 8 million horses crossed over London Bridge each year. By the 1960's it was obvious that the growth of heavy traffic would also cause serious damage to Rennie's bridge and once again a new bridge was built. However this was not the end of London Bridge as it was dismantled stone by stone and shipped to America where is was rebuilt at Lake Havasu in Arizona.
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