Everyone’s heard the story of London Bridge being shipped off to Arizona, but London has another great disappearing‑bridge tale — one that began at Millbank and ended up in Africa. It sounds like urban myth, but it’s entirely true Back in 1940, with the Blitz underway and the Luftwaffe targeting key Thames crossings, the government… Continue reading The Thames Bridge That Went To Africa
Tag: Bridges
The Willies of Westminster Bridge
This post is going to be short, to the point, trivial and above all puerile. (Sorry) Westminster Bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened in 1862. I think we can all imagine the complexity in designing such a structure and it seems Page wanted the bridge to look appealing as well as functional and… Continue reading The Willies of Westminster Bridge
Some straws but no camel
The Millennium Bridge which crosses the River Thames between St Paul’s and Bankside has been shut over the last couple of weeks for it’s annual clean and maintenance. Standing on the north bank and surveying the bridge there seems to be nothing different, apart from the workmen engaged in the task, but if you study… Continue reading Some straws but no camel
A short cut
Today the bridge officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, which is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crosses the River Thames, linking Bankside with the City of London. The bridge opened late and over budget in June 2000, but had to close two days later due to lateral movement which lead to it being named the “Wobbly Bridge”. It took nearly… Continue reading A short cut
Here Be Dragons
The City of London, the mile square area that roughly constitutes the Roman settlement of Londinium in the 1st century AD and is commonly referred to as “The City” is guarded by a fearsome creature. The City’s coat of arms depicts two of these, for they are the London Dragons. The use of them as… Continue reading Here Be Dragons
A LONDON MISCELLANY 