This version of Westminster Bridge opened in 1862, making it the oldest surviving road bridge across the Thames in central London. An interesting fellow, responsible for the first Chelsea Bridge among others, Page also put forward an idea for a submerged tube to act as a tunnel between England and France back in 1870. The bridge that crosses the Thames between Westminster Palace and Lambeth today was designed by engineer Thomas Page. It's central London's oldest surviving road bridge In the end, 12 nightwatchmen had to be hired to guard travellers as they crossed the river. An Arch of Old Westminster Bridge by Samuel Scott c. The first Westminster Bridge featured semi-octagonal turrets at intervals along the crossing to provide shelter for pedestrians.īut these cloistered cubby-holes soon became haunts for vagabonds, muggers and prostitutes. It's also the title of an 1802 William Wordsworth sonnet, Upon Westminster Bridge, although we should note that Bill was writing about what he could see from the bridge, not about the bridge itself. It has been immortalised in pictures by Canaletto, Samuel Scott, Antonio Jolli and JMW Turner. Westminster Bridge from the north on Lord Mayor's Day. The first Westminster Bridge was designed by young Swiss engineer, Charles Labelye and was rather beautiful. In the end, the new bridge at Westminster took more than 11 years to complete. Westminster Bridge under Construction by Richard Wilson, 1744. The name stuck as the bridge's construction dragged on much longer than planned. This lottery funding led Henry Fielding to dub the new crossing 'The Bridge of Fools'. Lotteries at the time were subject to abuse and fraud: some even saw them as being immoral, and a threat to society. The new bridge at Westminster wasn't funded in the typical way (with private enterprise and tolls) instead, money was raised via a then-fashionable 'lottery'. The watermen (think of them as the cabbies of their day) got £25,000 compensation, equivalent to £2m today. Permission to build a bridge at Westminster finally received Royal Approval on, when George II was on the throne. Charles II happily accepted the bribe, and refused permission to build the bridge. Their best and final tactic in opposing the bridge was an interest-free loan of £100,000 from the City Corporation to the King. One of their arguments was that if the watermen lost their jobs, there'd be fewer readily available seamen for the navy if England went to war. When Westminster Bridge was proposed to in 1664, the Corporation of London, the watermen (who ferried people across the river all day), and other people with vested interests, all opposed it. Old London Bridge on the 1632 oil painting "View of London Bridge" by Claude de Jongh For the previous 600 years, you could opt between crossing at London Bridge, or at Kingston Bridge. In the early 1700s, there really wasn't much choice if you wanted to cross the river.
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