London Bridge

a bridge across the River Thames in London, England, connecting the ancient centre of the city to the district of Southwark. Until 1750 it was the only bridge crossing the Thames in London. The present bridge, built in 1973, replaced one that was sold to a US businessman and rebuilt in Arizona.

* * *

Any of several successive structures spanning the River Thames.

The Old London Bridge of nursery-rhyme fame was built by Peter of Colechurch between 1176 and 1209, replacing an earlier timber bridge. Because of obstructions encountered in building the cofferdams, the arch spans varied from 15 to 34 ft (4.6–10.4 m); the uneven construction resulted in frequent need for repair, but the bridge survived more than 600 years. Its roadway was loaded with a jumble of houses and shops, many projecting out over the river. It was demolished and replaced in the 1820s by New London Bridge, designed and built by John Rennie, Sr. (1761–1821), and his son John Rennie, Jr. (1794–1874). In the 1960s it was again replaced; the old masonry facing was dismantled and reerected at Lake Havasu City, Ariz., as a tourist attraction.

* * *

▪ bridge, London, United Kingdom, 1176

Introduction

      any of several successive structures spanning the River Thames (Thames, River) between Borough High Street in Southwark and King William Street in the City of London (London, City of).

Old London Bridge

      The Old London Bridge of nursery rhyme fame (London Bridge) dates from 1176, when Peter, a priest and chaplain of St. Mary's of Colechurch, began construction of the foundation. Replacing a timber bridge (one of several built in late Roman and early medieval times), Peter's structure was the first great stone arch bridge built in Britain. It was to consist of 19 pointed arches, each with a span of approximately 24 feet (7 metres), built on piers 20 feet (6 metres) wide; a 20th opening was designed to be spanned by a wooden drawbridge. The stone foundations of the piers were built inside cofferdams (cofferdam) made by driving timber piles into the riverbed; these in turn were surrounded by starlings (loose stone filling enclosed by piles). As a result of obstructions encountered during pile driving, the span of the constructed arches actually varied from 15 to 34 feet (5 to 10 metres). In addition, the width of the protective starlings was so great that the total waterway was reduced to a quarter of its original width, and the tide roared through the narrow archways like a millrace. “Shooting the bridge” in a small boat became one of the thrills of Londoners.

 In 1205 Peter of Colechurch died, and three other London citizens completed the bridge by 1209. Almost immediately the bridge became not only an important commercial crossing but also a choice business and residential site. Shops lined both sides of the roadway between the fortified gates at either end; houses were built above the shops, with 138 premises being recorded in 1358. Walkways and additional rooms were extended between the buildings, transforming the roadway into a tunnel-like passage through which merchants and other travelers bustled. In the 1580s, during Queen Elizabeth I's reign, water mills were installed that added to the uproar.

      The bridge became the site of calamities. Three years after its completion a huge fire destroyed all the buildings and killed as many as 3,000 people. But the houses (a source of income for the bridge) were quickly rebuilt, lining the 926-foot (282-metre) length of the bridge and reducing the carriageway to only 12 feet (4 metres). In 1282 five arches collapsed under the pressure of winter ice. These, too, were rebuilt, and the bridge, though often in a state of disrepair, survived as London's sole crossing of the Thames until 1750. In that year Westminster Bridge opened, despite opposition from City merchants.

      Shortly thereafter the City decided to repair Peter of Colechurch's bridge, and the project was given to Charles Labelye, designer of the Westminster Bridge. By 1762 all the houses were removed, the carriageway was widened to 46 feet (14 metres), and the two central arches were replaced by one great arch at mid-span. The removal of the central pier led to serious erosion of the riverbed, and gravel was constantly poured to protect the remaining piers. Finally the maintenance became too much of a burden, and the City asked the renowned engineer John Rennie (Rennie, John) to design a wholly new structure several yards upstream.

New London Bridge

      For the new structure, Rennie proposed five semielliptical stone arches, with the central span reaching 150 feet (46 metres), the next two 140 feet (43 metres), and the two shore spans 130 feet (40 metres). Rennie died in 1821 before work began, and the job was left to his two sons. George Rennie had actually made the design in 1820, but construction was conducted under John Rennie, Jr., beginning in 1824. In 1831 King William IV and Queen Adelaide arrived by water to celebrate the opening of the new bridge. Demolition of the ancient structure began that year, and by 1832 it disappeared, having served 622 years.

      Rennie's bridge survived less than 140 years. Between 1968 and 1971 its facing stone was dismantled and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the U.S. state of Arizona, where it was reerected on a five-span core of reinforced concrete to serve as a tourist attraction at the resort town of Lake Havasu City. The New London Bridge now crosses Lake Havasu behind Parker Dam, 155 miles (250 km) south of Hoover Dam on the Colorado River.

Modern London Bridge

      The current London Bridge, built between 1968 and 1972, replaced Rennie's stone arches with beams of prestressed concrete reaching 340 feet (104 metres) in the central span. Construction was carried out using the cantilever method, with segments being built outward from two piers, each segment tied to the previous one by high-strength steel tendons. In the centre the two cantilevers did not meet but stopped short, leaving a space into which the builders placed a concrete beam to complete the span. The design represents a major post-World War II innovation in bridge engineering, but the bridge itself is not of great historical significance.

      See also from Encyclopædia Britannica's 3rd edition (1788–97), which includes discussions of Old London Bridge and New London Bridge.

David P. Billington

▪ children’s singing game

      children's singing game (children's game) in which there are several players (usually eight or more), two of whom join hands high to form an arch (the bridge). The other players march under the bridge, each holding onto the waist of the player in front. Either the players forming the bridge or all the players sing:

London Bridge is falling down,

Falling down, falling down,

London Bridge is falling down,

My fair lady.

      At the last word, the arms of the bridge are lowered to capture the last player through. The song continues with more stanzas.

      In the modern game, which dates back to 17th-century England and to the 16th-century continental European “fallen bridges” games, as the players are captured, they are kept in an area called the Tower of London, and at the end of the game they are chased by the bridge. The first two caught form the next bridge. In the earlier game, captured players went to alternate sides, forming two teams, and a tug-of-war followed (much like in the game Oranges and Lemons; see tug-of-war). In the original game, each prisoner paid a forfeit, possibly a vestige of the old folk superstition that a bridge would only stand after the death of a sacrifice.

      The song has numerous variant stanzas, sung while the prisoners are being captured, such as “Build it up with iron bars”; “Iron bars will bend and break”; and “Get a man to watch all night.” The name of the game also varies in different locations: broken bridges (Scotland); Die Goldene Brücke (Germany); Le Pont-Levis (France); Charlestown Bridge (New England); and podul de piatra (Romania).

* * *