Coordinates: 51°30′32″N 0°05′40″W / 51.50889°N 0.09444°W / 51.50889; -0.09444

Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral
Carries	A300 road
Crosses	River Thames
Locale	Southwark, London, England
Maintained by	Bridge House Estates, City of London Corporation
Total length	800 feet (243.8 m)
Width	55 feet (16.8 m)
Longest span	240 feet (73.2 m)
Opened	1921
Heritage status	Grade II listed structure

  John Rennie's Southwark iron bridge completed in 1819

Southwark Bridge is an arch bridge for traffic linking Southwark and the City across the River Thames, in London, England. It was designed by Ernest George and Basil Mott. It was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. and opened in 1921.^[1] The bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation.

  History

A previous bridge on the site, designed by John Rennie, opened in 1819, and was originally known as Queen Street Bridge, as shown on the 1818 John Snow Map of London. The bridge consisted of three large cast-iron spans supported by granite piers. It was known as the "Iron Bridge"^{[citation needed]} in comparison to London Bridge, the "Stone Bridge". The bridge was notable for having the longest cast iron span, 240 feet (73 m), ever made.

Halfway along the bridge on the Western side is a plaque which is inscribed:

  The plaque on the west side of the bridge.

Re-built by the Bridge House Estates Committee
of the Corporation of London
1913-1921
Opened for traffic by their Majesties
King George V and Queen Mary
6th June 1921
Sir Ernest Lamb CMG, JP Chairman
Basil Mott, CB Engineer
Sir Ernest George RA Architect

The bridge provides access to Upper Thames Street on the north bank and, due to the ring of steel, there is no further access to the City and the north. This has led to a reputation of it being the least used bridge in central London and it is sometimes known as the "car park bridge" as coach drivers use it to park their vehicles.

The current bridge was given Grade II listed structure status in 1995.^[2]

  Nearby

  Southwark Bridge seen from the south bank of the Thames. Tower 42 and 30 St Mary Axe can be seen above the bridge

  Southwark Bridge at night

At the north-west side is Vintners Court a 1990s office block which has a classical facade of columns and pediment; this was developed on the site owned by the Worshipful Company of Vintners whose Hall is behind it on Upper Thames Street; the style was chosen to compliment the north-west end of London Bridge at which is the Fishmongers Hall. Nearby is Cannon Street station.

The south end is near the Tate Modern, the Clink Prison Museum, the Globe Theatre, and the Financial Times and Ofcom buildings. Below the bridge on the south side are some old steps, which were once used by Thames watermen as a place to moor their boats and wait for customers. Southwark Bridge was built into the steps.

Below the bridge on the south side is a pedestrian tunnel, containing a frieze depicting the Thames frost fairs.

The next bridge upstream is the London Millennium Bridge and the next downstream is Cannon Street Railway Bridge.

  Popular culture

Southwark Bridge is frequently referenced by Charles Dickens, for example in Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend, and there was a recreation of the old bridge made for the 2008 Little Dorrit (TV serial).

The cream painted houses on the south side of the bridge, just after the FT building, were used for the exterior shots of the shared house in This Life.

  References

  External links

• Southwark Bridge (1819) at Structurae
• Southwark Bridge (1921) at Structurae

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