Old London bridge 1760 Southwark Cathedral spiked heads head of executed criminals criminam capital punishment execution River
By 1722, congestion was becoming so serious that the Lord Mayor decreed that "all carts, coaches and other carriages coming out of Southwark into this City do keep all along the west side of the said bridge: and all carts and coaches going out of the City do keep along the east side of the said bridge". This has been suggested as one possible origin for the practice of traffic in Britain driving on the left. Finally, under an Act of Parliament dated June 1756, permission was obtained to demolish all the shops and houses on London Bridge. In 1758–62, the houses were removed along with the two centre arches, replaced with a single wider span to improve navigation on the river. By the end of the 18th century, it was apparent that the old London Bridge — by then over 600 years old — needed to be replaced. It was narrow and decrepit, and blocked river traffic. In 1799, a competition for designs to replace the old bridge was held, prompting the engineer Thomas Telford to propose a bridge with a single iron arch spanning 600 feet (180 m). However this design was never used, because of uncertainty about its feasibility and the amount of land needed for its construction. The bridge was eventually replaced by a structure of five stone arches, designed by engineer John Rennie. The new bridge was built 100 feet (30 m) west (upstream) of the original site by Rennie's son of the same name. Work began in 1824 and the foundation stone was laid, in the southern coffer dam, on 15 June 1825. The old bridge continued in use while the new bridge was being built, and was demolished after the latter opened in 1831. The scheme necessitated the building of major new approach roads, which cost three times as much as the bridge itself. The total construction cost of around £ million (£186 million as of 2011), was met by the Corporation of London and government.
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Photo credit: © SOTK2011 / Alamy / Afripics
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