Westminster Bridge
{{Short description|Bridge over the River Thames in London}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name = Westminster Bridge
| image = Westminster Bridge and Palace of Westminster.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption =
| carries = A302 road
| crosses = River Thames
| locale = London
| designer = Thomas Page
| maint = Transport for London
| material =
| spans = 7
| length = {{convert|250|m|ft|order=flip}}
| width = {{convert|26|m|ft|order=flip}}
| open = (first bridge) 18 November 1750
(second bridge) 24 May 1862
| heritage = Grade II* listed structure
| below =
| traffic =
| preceded = Lambeth Bridge
| followed = Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridges
| design = Arch bridge
}}
File:Westminster Bridge by Joseph Farington, 1789.jpg
Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge crossing over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side.
The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the House of Commons which is on the side of the Palace of Westminster nearest to the bridge, but a natural shade similar to verdigris. This is in contrast to Lambeth Bridge, which is red, the same colour as the seats in the House of Lords and is on the opposite side of the Houses of Parliament.{{Cite book |title=The Bumper Book of London: Everything You Need to Know About London and More... |publisher=Frances Lincoln |year=2012 |author=Becky Jones，Clare Lewis |isbn=978-1-781011-03-4 |page=127 }}
In 2005–2007, it underwent a complete refurbishment, including replacing the iron fascias and repainting the whole bridge.
It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with County Hall and the London Eye on the east and was the finishing point during the early years of the London Marathon.
The next bridge downstream is the Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridges and upstream is Lambeth Bridge. Westminster Bridge was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1981.{{NHLE |num=1081058 |desc=Westminster Bridge |access-date=27 November 2008}}
History{{anchor|Westminster Bridge Act 1735|Westminster Bridge Act 1736|Westminster Bridge Act 1737|Westminster Bridge Act 1738|Westminster Bridge Act 1739|Westminster Bridge Act 1740|Westminster Bridge Act 1741|Westminster Bridge Act 1743|Westminster Bridge Act 1744|Westminster Bridge Act 1756|Westminster Bridge Act 1757|Prickard's Estate and Westminster Bridge Commissioners Act 1814|Westminster Bridge Act 1850|Westminster Bridge Act 1853|Westminster Bridge Act 1859|Westminster Bridge Act 1864}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1735
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from The New Palace Yard, in the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore in the County of Surrey.
| year = 1735
| citation = 9 Geo. 2. c. 29
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 20 May 1736
| commencement =
| expiry_date =
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| repealing_legislation = Westminster Bridge Act 1853
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| status = repealed
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1736
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act for explaining and amending an Act passed in the Ninth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled, "An Act for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from The New Palace Yard, in the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore, in the County of Surrey."
| year = 1736
| citation = 10 Geo. 2. c. 16
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 21 June 1737
| commencement =
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1737
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from the Woolstaple, or thereabouts, in the Parish of Saint Margaret, in the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore, in the County of Surrey.
| year = 1737
| citation = 11 Geo. 2. c. 25
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| royal_assent = 20 May 1738
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1738
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act to enlarge the Powers of the Commissioners for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from The Woolstaple, or thereabouts, in the Parish of Saint Margaret, in the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore, in the County of Surrey; and to enable them, by a Lottery, to raise Money, for the several Purposes therein mentioned; and to enlarge the Time for exchanging Tickets unclaimed in the last Lottery for the said Bridge; and to make Provision for Tickets in the said Lottery, lost, burnt, or otherwise destroyed.
| year = 1738
| citation = 12 Geo. 2. c. 33
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords =
| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 13 June 1739
| commencement =
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| repealing_legislation = Westminster Bridge Act 1853
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1739
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act to give further Powers to the Commissioners for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from the City of Westminster to the opposite Shore in the County of Surrey; and to enable them to raise a further Sum of Money, towards finishing the said Bridge, and to perform the other Trusts reposed in them.
| year = 1739
| citation = 13 Geo. 2. c. 16
| introduced_commons =
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| territorial_extent =
| royal_assent = 29 April 1740
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1740
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act to enable the Commissioners for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore in the County of Surrey, to raise a further Sum of Money, towards finishing the said Bridge, and to perform the other Trusts reposed in them; and for exchanging of Tickets unclaimed in the Westminster Bridge Lottery of the Twelfth Year of His present Majesty's Reign; and for making Provision for Tickets in the said Lottery, lost, burnt, or otherwise destroyed.
| year = 1740
| citation = 14 Geo. 2. c. 40
| introduced_commons =
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| royal_assent = 25 April 1741
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1741
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act for the better enabling the Commissioners for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from the City of Westminster to the opposite Shore in the County of Surrey, to finish the said Bridge, and to perform the other Trusts reposed in them; and for enlarging the Time for exchanging of Tickets unclaimed in the last Lottery for the said Bridge, and to make Provision for Tickets in the said Lottery, lost, burnt, or otherwise destroyed.
| year = 1741
| citation = 15 Geo. 2. c. 26
| introduced_commons =
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| royal_assent = 15 July 1742
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| repealing_legislation = Westminster Bridge Act 1853
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1743
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act to explain and make more effectual several Acts of Parliament, passed in the Reign of His present Majesty, for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore in the County of Surrey; and for the better enabling the Commissioners for building the said Bridge to finish the same, and to perform the other Trusts reposed in them; as also for granting further Time for exchanging the Tickets unclaimed in the last Lottery for the said Bridge, and to make Provision for Tickets in the said Lottery, lost, burnt, or otherwise destroyed.
| year = 1743
| citation = 17 Geo. 2. c. 32
| introduced_commons =
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| royal_assent = 12 May 1744
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1744
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act for granting further Powers to the Commissioners for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore in the County of Surrey; and for the better enabling them to finish the said Bridge, and to perform the other Trusts reposed in them.
| year = 1744
| citation = 18 Geo. 2. c. 29
| introduced_commons =
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| royal_assent = 2 May 1745
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1756
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act to enable the Commissioners for building a Bridge cross the River Thames, from the City of Westminster, to the opposite Shore in the County of Surry, to purchase Houses and Grounds, and to widen the Ways, and make more safe and commodious the Streets, Avenues, and Passages, leading from Charing Cross to the Two Houses of Parliament, Westminster Hall, and the Courts of Justice there, and Westminster Bridge; and to enable a less Number of Commissioners to execute the several Acts relating to the said Bridge than at present are required by Law; and for Relief of George and James King, with regard to a Lease taken by their late Father from the said Commissioners.
| year = 1756
| citation = 29 Geo. 2. c. 38
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| royal_assent = 27 May 1756
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1757
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of Great Britain
| long_title = An Act to enable the Commissioners for building Westminster Bridge to widen the Street, or Avenue, leading from Cockspur Street to the Passage in Spring Garden, near Saint James's Park.
| year = 1757
| citation = 30 Geo. 2. c. 34
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| royal_assent = 28 June 1757
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Prickard's Estate and Westminster Bridge Commissioners Act 1814
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act for vesting in the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge the legal Estate in Fee Simple of certain Estates vested in Thomas Prickard, an Infant Trustee, and others; and for confirming a Sale made by the said Commissioners, and for making them a Corporation, and giving them further Powers of selling and leasing.
| year = 1814
| citation = 54 Geo. 3. c. cxxxii
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| royal_assent = 17 June 1814
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| original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo3/54/132/pdfs/ukla_18140132_en.pdf
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1850
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to enable the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge to build a temporary Bridge across the River Thames from Bridge Street in the City of Westminster to the opposite Shore in the County of Surrey.
| year = 1850
| citation = 13 & 14 Vict. c. cxii
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| royal_assent = 14 August 1850
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1853
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to transfer Westminster Bridge and the estates of the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Works and Public Buildings, and to enable such last-mentioned Commissioners to remove the present bridge and to build a new bridge on or near the site thereof.
| year = 1853
| citation = 16 & 17 Vict. c. 46
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| royal_assent = 4 August 1853
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1859
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act to empower the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Works and Public Buildings to acquire additional Space for the Western Approach to Westminster New Bridge.
| year = 1859
| citation = 22 & 23 Vict. c. 58
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| royal_assent = 13 August 1859
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| repealing_legislation = Local Law (Greater London Council and Inner London Boroughs) Order 1965
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{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Westminster Bridge Act 1864
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act for the better regulation of the traffic on Westminster Bridge and for the prevention of obstructions thereon.
| year = 1864
| citation = 27 & 28 Vict. c. 88
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| royal_assent = 29 July 1864
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| repealing_legislation = Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973
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For over 600 years (at least 1129–1729), the nearest Thames bridge to London Bridge was at Kingston. From late Tudor times congestion in trading hours at London Bridge (for road goods and carriages from Kent, Essex, much of Surrey, Middlesex and beyond) often amounted to more than an hour.Pierce, Patricia, Old London Bridge – The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe, Headline Books, 2001, {{ISBN|0-7472-3493-0}} at p.45 A bridge at Westminster was proposed in 1664, but opposed by the Corporation of London and the watermen. Further opposition held sway in 1722. However an intervening bridge (albeit in timber) was built at Putney in 1729 and the scheme received parliamentary approval in 1736. Financed by private capital, lotteries and grants, Westminster Bridge was built between 1739–1750, under the supervision of the Swiss engineer Charles Labelye.{{cite book |last1= Walker|first1= R. J. B. | title = Old Westminster Bridge: The Bridge of Fools | publisher = David & Charles | date = 1979 | location = Newton Abbot | isbn = 978-0715378373 }} The bridge opened on 18 November 1750.{{cite web |url=http://www.londonhistorians.org/index.php?s%3Dfile_download%26id%3D8&usg=AFQjCNFEmPujWgpPlxgFypXmQOit2FqIZQ |format=PDF |title=Westminster Bridge |publisher=London Historians |last=Cookson |first=Brian |date=October 2010 |access-date=15 August 2017}}
The City of London responded to Westminster Bridge and the population growth by removing the buildings on London Bridge and widening it in 1760–63. With Putney Bridge, the bridge paved the way for four others within three decades: Blackfriars Bridge (1769, built by the City), Kew Bridge (1759), Battersea Bridge (1773), and Richmond Bridge (1777) by which date roads and vehicles were improved and fewer regular goods transported by water.
The bridge assisted the expanding West End to the developing South London as well as goods and carriages from the more estuarine counties and the East Sussex and Kentish ports. Without the bridge, traffic to and from the greater West End would have to negotiate streets often as congested as London Bridge, principally the Strand/Fleet Street and New Oxford Street/Holborn. Roads on both sides of the river were also built and improved, including Charing Cross Road and around the Elephant & Castle in Southwark.
By the mid-19th century the bridge was subsiding badly and expensive to maintain. The current bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened on 24 May 1862.{{cite web|author=John Eade |url=http://thames.me.uk/s00130.htm |title=Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide |publisher=Thames.me.uk |access-date=28 November 2011}} With a length of {{convert|250|m|ft|order=flip}} and a width of {{convert|26|m|ft|order=flip}},{{cite web|url=http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/WW010001/2.%20Post-Submission/Representations/23-09-2013%20-%20Applicant%27s%20submissions%20made%20for%20the%20deadline%20of%2023%20September%202013./9.15.60_Tunnel_and_Bridge_Assessments_Westminster_Bridge.pdf|title=Tunnel and Bridge Assessments: Central Zone: Westminster Bridge|author=Thames Tideway Tunnel|page=4|publisher=Thames Water Utilities|date=September 2013|access-date=13 May 2015|archive-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518100715/http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/WW010001/2.%20Post-Submission/Representations/23-09-2013%20-%20Applicant%27s%20submissions%20made%20for%20the%20deadline%20of%2023%20September%202013./9.15.60_Tunnel_and_Bridge_Assessments_Westminster_Bridge.pdf|url-status=dead}} it is a seven-arch, cast-iron{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol23/pp66-68#anchorn151 |chapter=Westminster Bridge |title=Survey of London |volume=23, Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall |publisher=London County Council |pages=66–68 |editor-first1=Howard |editor-last1=Roberts |editor-first2=Walter H. |editor-last2=Godfrey |location=London |date=1951 |via=British History Online |language=en |access-date=2017-04-01}} bridge with Gothic detailing by Charles Barry (the architect of the Palace of Westminster). The bridge carried a tram line for much of the first half of the twentieth century, from 1906 until 1952. On 5 July that year the last tram made a ceremonial journey across the bridge.{{cite book|author=Marshall, Prince (1972)|title=Wheels of London|date=2 February 1972 |publisher=The Sunday Times Magazine|page=95|isbn=0-7230-0068-9}} Since the removal of Rennie's New London Bridge in 1967 it is the oldest road structure which crosses the Thames in central London.
On 22 March 2017, a terrorist attack started on the bridge and continued into Bridge Street and Old Palace Yard. Five people – three pedestrians, one police officer, and the attacker – died as a result of the incident. A colleague of the officer (who was stationed nearby) was armed and shot the attacker. More than 50 people were injured. An investigation into the attack was conducted by the Metropolitan Police.{{cite news|title=London attack: What we know so far|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39355108|access-date=27 March 2017|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=27 March 2017}}
Image gallery
File:Samuel Scott - The Building of Westminster Bridge - Google Art Project.jpg|The Building of Westminster Bridge by Samuel Scott, 1742
File:Canaletto - Westminster Bridge, with the Lord Mayor's Procession on the Thames - Google Art Project.jpg|The first Westminster Bridge as painted by Canaletto, 1747. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven.
File:Canaletto - The City Seen Through an Arch of Westminster Bridge.JPG|London Seen Through an Arch of Westminster Bridge by Canaletto, 1747
File:Westminster Bridge 1750.jpg|Westminster Bridge, around 1750. The proprietors of the bridge had to pay compensation to the operators of the earlier 'Horseferry', and to local watermen
File:Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge 1897.jpg|1897 map, showing Lambeth Palace, Lambeth Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge
File:Rocque Vauxhall and Westminster (cropped).png|Westminster & Lambeth, 1746. Westminster Bridge, opened in 1740, connects Westminster to Lambeth; Huntley Ferry crosses the river on the site of the future Vauxhall Bridge
File:Joseph Mallord William Turner, English - The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834 - Google Art Project.jpg|The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons by J. M. W. Turner, 1835, with Westminster Bridge on the right
File:London - Lanterns on Westminster Bridge.jpg|Street lamps on the bridge
File:Coats of Arms, Westminster Bridge, London - geograph.org.uk - 1404551.jpg|The coats of arms of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort on the bridge
File:Westminster Bridge detail.jpg|The coat of arms of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston on the bridge. Palmerston was Prime Minister when the current bridge was opened.
File:Westminster Bridge By-Laws Notice.jpg|Westminster Bridge By-Laws Notice
File:Redlion.jpg|The South Bank Lion at the east end of Westminster Bridge
In popular culture
{{More citations needed section|date=November 2015}}
File:Westminster bridge night.jpg
File:Eye of London and street artists.jpg in the background]]
- In the 1964 Doctor Who serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the Daleks are seen moving across it in the 22nd Century.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/feb/28/dalek-invasion-of-earth-doctor-who|title=The Dalek Invasion of Earth: Doctor Who classic episode #2|work=TheGuardian.com|date=27 March 2017|access-date=13 December 2020}}
- In 1807 the famous poem Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 by William Wordsworth, written while standing on Westminster Bridge, was published in the "Collection of Poems" in two volumes.
- In the 2002 British horror film 28 Days Later, the protagonist awakes from a coma to find London deserted and walks over an eerily empty Westminster Bridge whilst looking for signs of life.
- Westminster Bridge is the start and finish point for the Bridges Handicap Race, a traditional London running race.
- The bridge was the site of a Pit Stop during the fourth season of the Israeli version of The Amazing Race.{{cite episode|title=The Race Halts!|series=HaMerotz LaMillion|season=4|number=20|network=Channel 2|date=28 January 2015}}
- In the finale of the 24th James Bond film Spectre, Blofeld's helicopter crashes into Westminster Bridge.
- In the 2019 mobile game Mario Kart Tour, a track based on London called London Loop is featured in the game and makes an appearance in the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass DLC Wave 2. In all three variants of the original track in Mario Kart Tour, the race begins on the bridge, as well as in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Structurae|id=20000474|title=Westminster Bridge (1750)}}
- {{Structurae|id=20003158|title=Westminster Bridge (1862)}}
- [http://www.earthpano.com/greatbritain/london/westminsterbridge/westminsterbridge.htm Interactive Panorama: Westminster Bridge] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113181638/http://www.earthpano.com/greatbritain/london/westminsterbridge/westminsterbridge.htm |date=13 November 2010 }}
{{ThamesCrossings | west=Lambeth Bridge | east=Jubilee line
between Westminster
and Waterloo }}
{{Bridges of Central London}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|51|30|03|N|0|07|19|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}
Category:Transport in the City of Westminster
Category:Transport in the London Borough of Lambeth
Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth
Category:Bridges completed in 1750
Category:Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United Kingdom
Category:Bridges completed in 1862
Category:Bridges across the River Thames
Category:Road bridges in England
Category:History of the London Borough of Lambeth
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster
Category:Grade II* listed bridges in London
Category:Arch bridges in the United Kingdom