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Prior to Westminster Bridge, London Bridge was the only bridge over the river Thames. It stretched over the river from King William Street up to Borough High Street. It was first raised by the Romans in A.D. 46. They simply used wood in its construction. The bridge was wiped out several times intentionally or by chance. Once it was burnt down by King Ethelred in 1013 to bring a halt to invading armies of Dane Svein Haraldsson, whereas it was annihilated in 1091 by storm and in1136 by fire. However, the most primitive record of the bridge dates back to the tenth century in Saxon Chronicles. Romans had used wood to construct the bridge which was, in fact, susceptible to both inferno and inundation, so it was decided by the keeper of the London Bridge to re-construct it from stones. Tower Bridge, due to its charm and beauty, is generally misunderstood as London Bridge but this is a new construction and can not hold lamp to the antiquity of London Bridge. Henry II in 1176 was the first monarch who planned use of stones in the construction of London Bridge. It claimed thirty-three years and about one hundred and fifty lives. The bridge was, however, finally built during King John in 1209. But King John was not ready to leave the bridge simply a bridge for transportation and movement of goods but he was all set to colonize the bridge. The bridge had become a residential as well as commercial center with a church at the heart of the bridge. Sometimes houses upon the bridge were erected up to seven stories. The bridge, later on, became so crowded that it subsequently turned into a ward of the city. The architecture of the bridge was unique. It had several curves. These curves were narrow and acted as partial barrage that obstructed about four-fifth of the river flow and it was very difficult to pass under the bridge. Various arches of the bridge collapsed and houses wiped out in course of time. In 1381 during Wat Tyler’s Peasant Revolt and in 1450 during Jack Cady’s Rebellion, many of the houses over the bridge were burnt. In 1212 a great fire broke out on the bridge and about three thousand people lost their lives. By 1722 overcrowding on the bridge led to the decision by the Mayor of London to keep east and west side of the bridge for coming to and going out of the city. This decision was most likely the foundation stone of present day traffic rule. In brief, London Bridge was ageing and had constant threat of fire. It was also getting excessive load on its arches. Important features of LondonBridge were `The Drawbridge Gate’, `The Chapel’, `Great Stone Gate’ and `The Piers’. The drawbridge gate had a shocking sight where heads of the traitors were balanced on a long wooden pole. The drawbridge gate was however demolished in 1577 to give way to Nonesuch House, which was built in sections in Holland and shipped over here. But the ghastly act of balancing traitor’s head on wooden pole did not stop and only the location changed. Now the heads of the traitors were transferred to the Great Stone Gate, which was presumably built for the safety and security of the town. This continued till 1678. Important persons, who got capital punishment and humiliated even after their death included Jack Cade, Thomas Moore, Bishop John Fisher, Thomas Cromwell and others. A church was also constructed, on the bridge, in the 12th century, which later on was renovated in the 14th century. In 1533 the church was converted into `Dwelling House’. Another remarkable feature of the bridge was piers. The width of the piers pulled out over the years and put a ceiling on the flow of the River Thames. The bridge which had taken thirty-three years to finalize, served London for almost six centuries. But now the industrial revolution had ushered resulting in the rise of population in London and growth in traffic. This increased the demand of a new bridge on the river Thames. The existing bridge had now become very old, narrow, weak and unsafe to river traffic. To meet the public aspirations a competition was organized to select the best design to replace the old London Bridge. It was held in 1799.Many Engineers participated in it and were praised also but the design of John Rennie was finally approved and accepted. The new bridge was built from granite stone and measured 928’x 49’. It had five stone arches. It took seven years to complete and consumed about two million GBP. King William IV opened the bridge in 1831. It was about one hundred feet west of its original site. But due to traffic pressure the bridge was widened during 1902 to 1904 without considering its limitations. The foundation of the bridge could not bear the extra burden and by 1924, the eastern side of the bridge sank by three to four inches than the western side. Almost every decade the bridge was dipping an inch. By 1962 John Rennie’s London Bridge had become dangerous and it was put to auction. In 1968 an American entrepreneur Robert P. McCullah purchased it at $ 2.46 million. The bridge was dismantled; granite stones were well marked and carried to Arizona where the London Bridge had to be re- erected. This `new’ London Bridge or Renee’s bridge still exists in Arizona. It was opened on October 10, 1971. Back to London, a modern bridge on the River Thames was inaugurated on March 17, 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II. John Mowlem, contractor of the bridge, had completed the project in five years. It is 924 feet long and cost about four million British pounds. It is located at the same place where the old London Bridge once existed. In 1984 HMS Jupiter, a British warship collided with the bridge and did considerable damage to both, the bridge and itself. ModernLondon Bridge is based on cantilever method, a symbol of post World War novelty in bridge engineering. Related
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