Bridges of London | A Pictorial Journey
36 Bridges of London from Hampton Court in the west to Dartford in the east.
Hampton Court Bridge
Opened: 1933
Length: 320 feet
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (Hampton Court Palace) to Surrey (East Molesey)
About: The one by the Palace with three concrete spans and a brick finish.
Kingston Bridge
Opened: 1828
Length: 382 feet
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (Hampton Wick) to Kingston (Kingston)
About: The one with four stone pillars, five stone arches and decorative gas lamps.
Kingston Railway Bridge
Opened: 1863
Length:
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (Hampton Wick) to Kingston (Kingston)
About: The one with five arches yet only three of them are above the river. (The others span land).
Teddington Lock Footbridge
Opened: 1889
Length:
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (Teddington) to Richmond Upon Thames (Ham)
About: The one that is actually two. A suspension bridge in the west and a steel truss bridge in the east.
Richmond Bridge
Opened: 1777
Length: 280 feet
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (St Margarets) to Richmond Upon Thames (Richmond)
About: The five arched bridge faced with Portland stone that links two parts of the same borough.
Richmond Railway Bridge
Opened: 1848
Length: 300 feet
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (St Margarets) to Richmond Upon Thames (Richmond)
About: The yellow and green one with two stone pillars supporting three steel arches.
Twickenham Bridge
Opened: 1933
Length: 280 feet
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (St Margarets) to Richmond Upon Thames (Richmond)
About: The concrete one two piers, three arches and hinges to allow movement to adjust for changes in temperature.
Richmond Lock Footbridge
Opened: 1894
Length: 300 feet
From / to: Richmond Upon Thames (St Margarets) to Richmond Upon Thames (Richmond)
About: The ornate one that is actually two footbridges over Richmond lock and weir which handles up to six barges.
Kew Bridge
Opened: 1903
Length: 360 feet
From / to: Hounslow (Brentford) to Richmond Upon Thames (Kew)
About: The one featuring shields of Middlesex and Surrey between three granite arches.
Kew Railway Bridge
Opened: 1869
Length: 575 feet
From / to: Hounslow (Chiswick) to Richmond Upon Thames (Mortlake)
About: The one with four iron columns supporting five lattice girder spans and two rail tracks.
Chiswick Bridge
Opened: 1933
Length: 450 feet
From / to: Hounslow (Chiswick) to Richmond Upon Thames (Mortlake)
About: The ordinary looking one with three concrete arches.
Barnes Railway Bridge
Opened: 1895
From / to: Hounslow (Chiswick) to Richmond Upon Thames (Barnes)
About: The urban tiered railway bridge built as three spans of bow string girders.
Hammersmith Bridge
Opened: 1827
Length: 688 feet
From / to: Hammersmith and Fulham (Hammersmith) to Richmond Upon Thames (Castlenau)
About: London’s first suspension bridge over the river with two iron towers supporting steel suspension chains and the roadway below.
Putney Bridge
Opened: 1886
Length: 700 feet
From / to: Hammersmith and Fulham (Fulham) to Wandsworth (Putney)
About: The one comprising five giant arches that replaced the 1729 version.
Fulham Railway Bridge
Opened: 1889
Length: 750 feet
From / to: Hammersmith and Fulham (Putney) to Richmond Upon Thames (East Putney)
About: The one with three pairs of cylinders supporting five lattice girders and two railway tracks.
Wandsworth Bridge
Opened: 1940
Length: 619 feet
From / to: Hammersmith and Fulham (Fulham) to Richmond Upon Thames (Castlenau)
About: The blue and white one with three cantilever spans.
Battersea Railway Bridge
Opened: 1863
Length: 670 feet
From / to: Hammersmith and Fulham (Imperial Wharf) to Wandsworth (Clapham Junction)
About: The one made up of our stone river piers supporting five arches.
Battersea Bridge
Opened: 1890
Length: 670 feet
From / to: Kensington and Chelsea (Chelsea) to Wandsworth (Battersea)
About: The road bridge made up of seven arched ribs and decorative golden fascias.
Albert Bridge
Opened: 1873
Length: 710 feet
From / to: Kensington and Chelsea (Chelsea) to Wandsworth (Battersea)
About: London’s prettiest bridge where suspension chains fan out from two ornamental towers. Especially beautiful at night.
Chelsea Bridge
Opened: 1937
Length: 698 feet
From / to: Kensington and Chelsea (Chelsea) to Wandsworth (Battersea)
About: The one with two square towers supporting suspension chains with decorative lamp posts at both ends.
Grosvenor Bridge
Opened: 1860
Length: 700 feet
From / to: Westminster to Wandsworth
About: The one by the power station where four wright iron spans support ten railway tracks.
Vauxhall Bridge
Opened: 1906
Length: 779 feet
From / to: Westminster (Pimlico) to Lambeth (Vauxhall)
About: The first iron bridge over the river with four piers decorated by giant statues between five steel arches.
Lambeth Bridge
Opened: 1932
Length: 776 feet
From / to: Westminster to Lambeth
About: The red one – to match the colours of the House of Lords – with five arches.
Westminster Bridge
Opened: 1862
Length: 748 feet
From / to: Westminster to Lambeth (South Bank)
About: The green one – to match the colours of the House of Commons – with seven wrought iron arches.
Hungerford Railway Bridge
Opened: 1864
Length: 1352 feet
From / to: Westminster to Southwark (South Bank)
About: The one hidden by the Golden Jubilee Bridges with brick piers, cast iron cylinders, nine wrought iron girders and eight rail tracks.
Golden Jubilee Bridges
Opened: 2002
Length: 325 metres
From / to: Westminster to Southwark (South Bank)
About: The pair of steel footbridges with pylons and rods – commemorating the golden jubilee of Queen Elizabeth 2 – that hide the Hungerford Railway Bridge.
Waterloo Bridge
Opened: 1817
Length: 1200 feet
From / to: Westminster to Southwark (South Bank)
About: The concrete one with five flat concrete arches that vies with London Bridge as central London’s least attractive bridge.
Headless columns of LCDR Bridge
Opened: Never!
From / to: Nowhere!
About: The twelve headless columns in four rows to support a bridge that never was.
Blackfriars Bridge
Opened: 1869
Length: 963 feet
From / to: City of London (Blackfriars) to Southwark
About: The one with St Pauls in the background with four polished granite columns supporting five wrought iron spans.
Blackfriars Railway Bridge
Opened: 1886
Length: 933 feet
From / to: City of London (Blackfriars) to Southwark
About: The one with five spans of wrought iron ribs that was refurbished between 2010 and 2014 to become the largest solar panel bridge in the world.
Millennium Bridge
Opened: 2002
Length: 325 metres
From / to: City of London (Queenhithe) to Southwark (Bankside)
About: The pedestrian one that wobbles although not quite as much as it did when it opened in 2000.
Southwark Bridge
Opened: 1921
Length: 1819
From / to: City of London (Queen Street) to Bankside Southwark)
About: The ornate one with four stone piers, five steel arches and decorative lighting.
Cannon Street Railway Bridge
Opened: 1866
Length: 855 feet
From / to: City of London (Cannon Street) to Southwark
About: The one with cast iron columns supporting five spans of wrought iron girders and ten tracks leading to a victorian rail shed.
London Bridge
Opened: 1973
Length: 860 feet
From / to: City of London (Monument) to Southwark
The concrete one with no decoration whose predecessor sits in Arizona, USA.
Tower Bridge
Opened: 1894
Length: 380 feet
From / to: Tower Hamlets to Southwark
About: The one the whole world knows with two bascules, suspension chains and a central drawbridge to let tall ships through.
Queen Elizabeth 2 Bridge
Opened: 1991
Length: 812 metres
From / to: Thurrock in Essex to Dartford in Kent
About: The one that isn’t in London that became the longest cable supported bridge in Europe and carries traffic southbound only. (the Dartford Tunnel deals with northbound traffic).
Mr Smith has developed a life long detailed knowledge of London. The Bridges of London is just one of the London themes which comprise his work. This post will be updated from time to time so please check back every now and again. If you are a copywriter or historian and would like to provide information to improve this post, please get in touch.
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