Crossing the River: The History of London's Thames River Bridges From Richmond to the Tower

by Brian Cookson

  Home, Gordon, Old London Bridge (Lane, 1931)

  Jackson, Peter, London Bridge (Cassell, 1971)

  Pennant, Thomas, Some Account of London (R. Faulder, 1791)

  Pierce, Patricia, Old London Bridge (Headline, 2001)

  Shepherd, C.W., A Thousand Years of London Bridge (Baker, 1971)

  Chapter 15

  Acts of Parliament

  Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act 48 & 49 Vic. I c. CXCV 1885

  Publications

  Barry, John Wolfe, The Tower Bridge (Boot, Son and Carpenter, 1894)

  Crutwell, G.E.W., The Tower Bridge: Superstructure (ICE, 1897)

  Godfrey, Honor, Tower Bridge (John Murray, 1988)

  Tuit, J.E., The Tower Bridge: its history and construction (The Engineer, 1894)

  Vallintine, Reg, Divers and Diving (Blandford, 1981)

  Welch, Charles, The History of Tower Bridge and other Bridges over the Thames (Smith, Elder, 1894)

  Tower Bridge Exhibition

  This permanent exhibition housed in the bridge itself is especially useful for information on the walkways and the operation of the bascules.

  Index

  The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.

  Albert Bridge 18, 85, 115, 122–3, 134, 136, 126–30, 142, 147, 248, 250

  Act 122

  award-winning lighting 128

  Ordish design 126

  plans to demolish 127

  public inquiry (1974) 128

  sign to troops 130, 250

  America, deportation to 27, 31, 78

  Armstrong, William 300

  Arrol, William 215, 299, 301 see

  also Sir William Arrol & Co.

  and Tower Bridge 298

  Asgill, Sir Charles 27

  Augusta, Princess 51–2, 55

  Ayrton, Maxwell 41–2

  Baker, Benjamin 140, 156, 238

  Baker, Herbert 66–8

  Baker, William 116

  Barnard, John 52, 170

  Barnes Bridge 39, 69–72, 109

  design 70

  rebuilding (1895) 71

  Barry, Charles 178, 194, 293

  Barry, E. M. 194, 264

  Barry, John Wolfe 59, 293–6

  and Blackfriars Railway

  Bridge 242, 293–4

  and Kew Bridge 59, 293

  and Tower Bridge 293–4, 301–2, 306

  Battersea Bridge 54, 115, 117–27, 144–5, 194

  Battersea Bridge (new)

  Bazalgette design 87, 123

  boating incidents 124

  bottlenose whale’s end 125

  opening 87, 124

  Battersea Bridge (old)

  Act 118

  in art 122

  tollmen regulations 120–1

  Battersea Railway Bridge 115–17

  Bazalgette, Joseph 18, 73, 85–7, 89, 93, 106, 123, 127, 142, 192–4, 238, 292, 309

  Blackfriars Bridge 17, 30, 89, 105, 147, 203–4, 206, 209, 222–40, 247, 253–4, 256, 260–1, 287, 291

  Blackfriars Bridge (new)

  Act (1863) 234

  Joseph Cubitt design 235

  opening 235

  Roberto Calvi death 239–40

  widening for trams 238

  Blackfriars Bridge (old)

  Act (1756) 224

  construction problems 229

  decision to replace 234

  Mylne design 228

  Mylne selected as architect 226

  Mylne’s dispute over payment 232

  Blackfriars monastery 222–3, 237

  Blackfriars Railway Bridge 241–4, 293–4

  Blomfield, Arthur, 108

  Blomfield, Reginald 41–2, 134–5, 157–8, 205

  Boat Race 66, 69, 71, 73, 83–5, 92–3, 109, 122

  Boswell, James 32, 37, 228

  Brave Goose 36, 64

  Bridge House Estates (BHE) 230, 234, 238, 247, 258–9, 270, 282, 284, 291, 296

  British Museum 26, 52, 117, 131, 269

  Brunel, H.M. 242

  Brunel, Isambard Kingdom 18, 37–9, 47, 76, 92–3, 133, 155, 177, 186–90, 192–3, 206, 210, 243, 290

  Brunel, Marc 191, 290

  Burlington, Lord 28, 162

  Cade, Jack 277–8

  caissons 20, 170, 230, 239, 270, 297

  Calvi, Roberto 239–40

  Canaletto 25, 174

  Cannon Street Railway Bridge 191, 240, 253, 258–9, 261–5, 293

  Hawkshaw design 263

  war damage 264–5

  widening (1893) 264

  Caro, Anthony 247, 249

  Caroline, Queen 24–5

  Caroline of Brunswick 74–5

  Chambers, William 32, 203, 226

  and Wick House 32

  Charles I 96, 108, 153, 184, 278

  Charles II 153, 163–4, 184–5, 274

  Chelsea Bridge 113, 115, 126, 130–9, 142, 147, 178, 260

  Chelsea Bridge (new)

  design 136

  Chelsea Bridge (old)

  Act 130–1

  Battersea Shield found 131–2

  criticised by Reginald Blomfield 134–5

  name changed from Victoria Bridge 134, 260

  Thomas Page design 132

  Chiswick Bridge 41, 66–9

  Clark, William Tierney 19, 73, 78–82, 89

  Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Co. 34, 66

  cofferdams 20, 35, 82, 107, 170, 207, 216, 270, 283

  Colechurch, Peter de 268–9, 279

  Constable, John 32, 181, 211

  Couse, Kenton 28–9

  Cromwell, Oliver 52, 64, 108, 153, 180, 278

  Cubitt, Joseph 234–5, 237, 240–1

  Cubitt, Thomas 81, 134

  Dalrymple-Hay, Sir Harley 34

  Dance, George 225–6, 281

  Defoe, Daniel 75

  Dickens, Charles 58, 61, 109, 154, 185–6, 258, 286–7, 290

  divers 40, 297

  Dodd, George 83, 204–5

  Dodd, Ralph 75–6, 79, 83, 119–20, 144, 204–5, 282

  dolphins 37

  Dorman, Long & Co. 158

  Dryland, Alfred 41, 66

  Edward I 162, 183, 273, 276

  Edward III 24

  Edward IV 278

  Edward VI 152, 203

  Edward VII 60

  Edward the Confessor 161–2

  Elizabeth I 24, 95, 184, 262

  Elizabeth II 159, 183, 200, 248–9, 304, 305

  Fitzmaurice, Maurice 148

  Fleet, River 223–4, 237–8

  Forrest, G. Topham 136, 157

  Forth Rail Bridge 63, 140, 156, 238, 299, 301

  Forth Road Bridge 248

  Foster, Norman 247–8, 250–1

  Fowler, Charles 186–7

  Fowler, John 139–40, 238

  Frederick, Prince 50–4

  Frost Fairs 18, 103, 170, 230, 261, 272

  Fulham Bridge 84, 94, 96–106, 109, 163, 167 see also Putney Bridge

  Act 97

  aqueduct 104

  design 98

  Mary Wollstonecraft suicide attempt 102

  opening 99

  tollmen incidents 101

  Fulham ferry 95–9

  Galbraith, W.R. 63

  gas lamps 35

  George II 24–6, 50, 53, 173

  George III 53–6, 74

  George IV 53, 74, 82, 283

  George V 47, 158, 259, 260

  George VI 136, 159, 180

  George, Ernest 258

  Gilbert and Sullivan 36

  Golden Jubilee Bridge 155, 183, 197–200, 251

  Greater London Authority (GLA) 44, 200

  Greater London Council (GLC) 88–9, 150–1, 180

  Great Western Railway (GWR) 37, 39, 116, 139, 140, 187–8, 190

  Grosvenor Bridge 136, 138–42

  frequent widening 140

  John Fowler design 139


  Hammersmith Bridge 19, 57, 73–93, 100, 105–6, 109, 119, 122–3, 134, 155, 194

  Act 77

  aesthetic merits 73

  centenary 88

  crowds at Boat Race 84

  freed from tolls 84

  heroic sacrifice by Lieutenant Wood 91–2

  IRA attacks 90

  Ralph Dodd proposal 75–6

  rebuilt by Bazalgette 86

  suspension bridge design 80

  tolls 77

  Hampton Court Bridge 41

  Hawkshaw, John 85, 189–192, 197, 200, 241, 263, 293

  and Hungerford Bridge 189

  Hawksmoor, Nicholas 164–5, 169

  Head, Wrightson and Co. 71, 110

  Henry II 269

  Henry III 202, 268, 275–6

  Henry VI 24, 277–8

  Henry VII 24, 152, 203

  Henry VIII 24, 117, 162, 222–3, 271–2, 274, 279–80

  highwaymen 38, 51, 102

  Holland, Henry 26–7, 118

  Holloway Bros (London) Ltd 114, 136

  Humphreys, George W. 157–8

  Hungerford Bridge 85, 155, 180, 183–99, 201, 210, 241, 265

  Hungerford Bridge (new)

  Act (1859) 189

  aesthetic criticisms 191

  crime on footbridge 198

  Festival of Britain 195–6

  Hawkshaw design 189, 241

  proposals to rebuild 194–5

  Hungerford Bridge (old)

  Brunel design 186, 210

  chains reused for Clifton Supension Bridge 192

  Hungerford family 185

  Hungerford Market 186

  Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) 39, 147, 160, 189, 191, 194, 216–17, 294

  Jacobites 26, 173

  Jacomb, William 110

  James I 69, 152

  James II 153, 173, 274

  John Mowlem & Co. 284

  Johnson, Dr Samuel 32, 228, 274

  Jones, Horace 292–4, 296

  Kerr, Thomas 29, 30

  Kew Bridge 49–63, 75–7, 84, 91, 170, 260, 293

  art and literature 61

  Kew Bridge (first)

  Act 52

  opening 52

  tolls 54

  Kew Bridge (second)

  attacks on toll-keepers 57

  freed from tolls 57, 58

  James Paine architect 55

  MBW purchase 57–8

  opening 55

  sold to Robinson 56

  Kew Bridge (third)

  Act 59

  construction 59

  opening 60

  Second World War 62

  Kew Railway Bridge

  Galbraith design 63

  painting 64

  Railtrack repairs 65

  Kew Gardens see Royal Botanic Gardens

  King’s Ferry 50

  Kingston Bridge 27, 57, 91, 94, 96, 98

  Labelye, Charles 168–72, 174–8, 184, 230

  Lambeth Bridge 42, 134, 138, 147, 151–60

  Lambeth Bridge (new)

  Act 157

  LCC design 157

  pineapple obelisks 158

  restoration (2003) 160

  Lambeth Bridge (old)

  Act 155

  Barlow design 155

  Lambeth horse ferry 152–3, 166, 169, 173

  Locke, Joseph 39–40

  and Barnes Bridge 70, 72

  and Richmond Railway Bridge 39

  London and Southampton Railway (LSR) 39

  London and South Western Railway (LSWR) 37–9, 63, 70–1, 109–11, 116

  London Bridge 15–16, 18, 100, 140, 189, 205–6, 233, 253, 258, 264, 266–88, 290

  London Bridge (1831)

  Act 282

  rebuilt in Arizona 285–6

  Rennie design 284

  London Bridge (1973) 284

  London Bridge (Old) 16–20, 27, 44, 94, 103, 161, 163, 167, 177, 234, 253, 269–87, 291

  and Bridge House Estates 230, 269–70, 282, 291

  built by Peter de Colechurch 269

  construction 270

  Great Fire 280–1

  heads displayed 272–3, 278

  houses 278–9

  houses removed 281–2

  ‘keep left’ rule 281

  remains 287

  St Thomas’s Chapel 269, 279, 280

  shooting the bridge 271

  waterwheels 272

  ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’ 268

  Roman wooden bridge 266–7

  Saxon and Norman wooden bridges 268

  London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) 116, 139, 140, 189, 240

  London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) 139, 189, 222, 234, 240–3, 262

  London, Chatham and Dover Railway Bridge 222, 240–2

  London County Council (LCC) 87, 113, 124, 127–8, 135–6, 148–50, 156–8, 179, 195, 197, 213, 218–19, 238–9

  Lutyens, Edwin 41, 68

  Marchioness disaster 261–2, 303

  Marlow, William 25

  Metropolis Toll Bridges Act 84, 105, 112, 147, 263–4

  Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) 57, 83–4, 86, 87, 105, 106, 107, 110, 112, 123, 127, 147–8, 156, 192, 193, 210, 264, 292

  Millennium Bridge 18–19, 155, 199, 245–52

  architectural competition 247

  design 248

  official opening 248–9

  reopening after ‘wobble’ cured 251

  the ‘wobble’ 249–50

  Ministry of Transport (MOT) 41, 66, 113, 135–6

  Monet, Claude 122, 176, 191, 192, 211

  More, Thomas 117, 274

  Mott, Hay and Anderson 259, 284

  Museum of London Archaeology Service (MoLAS) 15, 144, 158, 267

  Mylne, Robert 17, 30, 226, 227–32, 234–5, 287, 309

  navvies 297–8

  Nine Elms 37, 38, 63, 70, 109, 144

  Old London Bridge see

  London Bridge (Old)

  omnibuses 38, 58, 83, 212

  Ordish, Rowland Mason 85, 126, 128

  Ove Arup and Partners 247–8, 249, 250–1

  Paddington 37, 38, 83, 188, 236

  Page, Thomas 132–4, 178–9

  and Chelsea Bridge 133

  and Westminster Bridge 178–9

  Paine, James 17, 28–9, 49, 55–6, 59, 62

  and Kew Bridge 29, 49, 55–6, 59, 162

  and Richmond Bridge 17, 28–9, 49

  Peasants’ Revolt 202–3, 276–7

  Port of London Authority (PLA) 47–8, 248

  Princess Beatrice 36

  Putney Bridge 16, 54, 75–7, 91, 94–109, 112–13, 118, 194 see

  also Fulham Bridge in art and literature 109

  Bazalgette design 106

  failed proposal (1671) 96

  widening 108

  Putney Railway Bridge 109–11

  Railtrack 40, 65, 197

  Rendel, Palmer and Triton 136, 216

  Rennie, John 18, 44, 76, 79, 145, 177, 201, 283

  and London Bridge 283–7, 290

  and Southwark Bridge 253–8, 260, 283

  and Waterloo Bridge 204–7, 209, 211, 212–19, 257

  Rennie, John, Jr 255, 256, 283

  Reynolds, Joshua 25, 32, 37

  Richmond Bridge 17–18, 21, 23–37, 41, 42, 49, 55, 57, 61, 64–5, 75, 98

  Act 27, 78

  in art 31

  bicentenary 37

  Brave Goose 36, 64–5

  commissioners 27

  construction 29, 30–1

  James Paine architect 28–9

  location 27

  opening 31

  Princess Beatrice 36

  replaces ferry 24

  tolls 27, 32

  tontine 29

  widening 34

  Windham’s proposal 26

  Richmond Footbridge, Lock and Weir 44–8

  Act 45

  design 46

  reasons for 44–5

  restoration by PLA (1994) 48

  Richmond
Railway Bridge 37–40, 70

  design 39

  steel replacement (1907) 40

  Riley, W.E. 148

  Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 49, 50–1, 55

  Royal Commission on Cross-river Traffic 41, 66, 92, 108, 113, 135, 194–5, 214

  Royal Fine Art Commission 41–2, 113–14, 128, 136, 213, 265

  St Paul’s bridge 245–6

  Savoy Palace 202–3, 210

  Scott, Giles Gilbert 136, 142, 216, 246

  Scott, Samuel 25, 174

  Second World War 35, 46, 62, 79–80, 91, 136–7, 150, 159, 195–6, 199, 201, 213, 217–18, 264–5, 300, 304–5

  Sir William Arrol & Co. 213, 238, 259, 296, 298 see also

  Arrol, William

  Somerset House 96, 188, 202–3, 205, 210–11, 216

  South Eastern Railway (SER) 189, 190, 192, 240, 253, 262, 263, 264

  Southwark Bridge 245–7, 253–62, 283, 291

  Southwark Bridge (new)

  Ernest George design 258

  Marchioness disaster 261–2

  opening 259–60

  Southwark Bridge (old)

  Act (1811) 254

  construction problems 255

  financial difficulties 256

  in literature 258

  Rennie design 254–5

  steamboats 37–8, 83, 87, 192

  Stephenson, George 39

  Stoney, F.G.M. 46–7

  Stow, John 223–4, 262, 270, 272

  Strand Bridge Company 204, 207

  Strawberry Hill 25–6, 33

  Tate Britain 32, 55, 84, 122, 138, 211

  Tate Modern 150, 199, 241, 245–7, 252

  Taylor, Robert 28

  Teddington 36, 44–5, 47, 131

  Telford, Thomas 76, 80, 81, 147, 177, 187, 206, 282, 288, 306

  Thames Barrier 37

  Thames Conservancy 45–7, 67, 105, 110, 254

  tollmen 101–3, 120–1

  tolls 17, 27, 32–3, 37, 46, 51, 54, 56, 57, 58, 77, 82, 84, 87, 97, 100–1, 103, 105, 118, 123, 126, 131–2, 134, 145, 147, 155, 166, 192, 204, 209, 212, 225, 230, 233, 254, 256, 263–4, 290

  Tolmé, J.H. 112

  tontines 29, 30, 33, 55, 75

  Tower Bridge 18, 20–1, 44, 59, 75, 126, 155, 191, 238, 242, 245–7, 259, 270, 286, 288–307

  bascules 294, 300–2, 304–6

  building the river-towers 297

  bus jumps over open bascules 304

  construction 296–8

  crime and suicides 303

  design competition 291–2

  high-level walkways 294, 298, 302–4

  Horace Jones design 294–5

  opening ceremony 301–2

  Tower Foot Tunnel 290

  Tunstall, Robert 51–4

  Tunstall, Robert, Jr 55, 56, 57, 77

  Turner, J.M.W. 32, 34, 55, 61, 117, 122, 174, 175

  Twickenham Bridge 41–4, 66

  Act 42

  construction 42–3

  design 41–2

  naming 42

  proposals for 41

  Vauxhall Bridge 15, 17, 84, 119–20, 138, 142–51, 154, 156