21st July: Battersea Bridge

Battersea Bridge over the Thames in London, opened on this date in 1890. The picture below is of the old wooden Battersea Bridge.

1. At 40 feet (12 m), Battersea Bridge is the narrowest road bridge over the River Thames, and the fifth least used bridge in London. About 26,041 vehicles cross it per day.
2. It is situated on a sharp bend in the river, and links Battersea south of the river with Chelsea to the north.
3. Before there was a bridge there, a ferry had been operating since the 16th century. By the mid 18th century, the ferry was seen as old and dangerous and in 1766 the Battersea Bridge Company was formed and obtained Parliamentary consent to build "a fine stone bridge" across the Thames at a projected cost of £83,000.
4. Local residents weren't as keen on the idea of a bridge as had been anticipated, or at least, not keen enough to invest Money in it. Only 15 people put any money forward, so there were not enough funds for the "fine stone bridge" so a wooden one, designed by Henry Holland, was built instead. That bridge opened to traffic in 1772. It was a toll bridge, with a range of tolls from 1⁄2d for pedestrians to 1 shilling for vehicles drawn by four or more Horses.
5. The bridge was never formally named, and was referred to on maps of the period as both "Battersea Bridge" and "Chelsea Bridge".
6. The wooden bridge was somewhat dangerous, both to people crossing it and boats passing underneath. This is why it became the first bridge on the Thames to be lit by oil lamps, in an attempt to make it safer.
7. It was, nevertheless, the last surviving wooden bridge across the Thames and appeared in works of art by JMW Turner, John Sell Cotman and James McNeill Whistler. There is a statue of Whistler by Nicholas Dimbleby at the north end of the bridge.
8. The wooden bridge was demolished in 1885 demolished and replaced with the existing bridge, designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette and built by John Mowlem & Co. This time, the bridge did get an official name. The new bridge was officially opened by future Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, then chairman of the newly formed London County Council. Although still narrow, it was part of the London tram route.
9. The bridge is 725 feet 6 inches (221.13m) long and is a Grade II listed structure. In 1992, English Heritage renovated it, re-painting it in its original colours.
10. In January 2006, a female bottlenose whale became stranded at Battersea Bridge. Crowds gathered on the bridge to witness the rescue operation, which sadly failed as the whale died while being transported back to the sea.