Westminster Bridge | |
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Coordinates | 51°30′03″N0°07′19″W / 51.5008°N 0.1219°W |
Carries | A302 road |
Crosses | River Thames |
Locale | London |
Maintained by | Transport for London |
Heritage status | Grade II* listed structure |
Preceded by | Lambeth Bridge |
Followed by | Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridges |
Characteristics | |
Design | Arch bridge |
Total length | 820 feet (250 m) |
Width | 85 feet (26 m) |
No. of spans | 7 |
History | |
Designer | Thomas Page |
Opened | (first bridge) 18 November 1750 (second bridge) 24 May 1862 |
Location | |
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. [1]
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. [2]
Westminster Bridge Act 1735 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 9 Geo. 2. c. 29 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 20 May 1736 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1736 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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." |
Citation | 10 Geo. 2. c. 16 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 21 June 1737 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1737 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 11 Geo. 2. c. 25 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 20 May 1738 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1738 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 12 Geo. 2. c. 33 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 13 June 1739 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1739 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 13 Geo. 2. c. 16 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 29 April 1740 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1740 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 14 Geo. 2. c. 40 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 25 April 1741 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1741 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 15 Geo. 2. c. 26 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 15 July 1742 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1743 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 17 Geo. 2. c. 32 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 12 May 1744 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1744 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 18 Geo. 2. c. 29 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 2 May 1745 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1756 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 29 Geo. 2. c. 38 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 27 May 1756 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1757 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 30 Geo. 2. c. 34 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 28 June 1757 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed |
Prickard's Estate and Westminster Bridge Commissioners Act 1814 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 54 Geo. 3. c. cxxxii |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 17 June 1814 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Westminster Bridge Act 1850 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 13 & 14 Vict. c. cxii |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 14 August 1850 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Westminster Bridge Act 1853 |
Status: Repealed | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Westminster Bridge Act 1853 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 16 & 17 Vict. c. 46 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 4 August 1853 |
Other legislation | |
Repeals/revokes |
|
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Westminster Bridge Act 1859 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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. |
Citation | 22 & 23 Vict. c. 58 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 13 August 1859 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Local Law (Greater London Council and Inner London Boroughs) Order 1965 |
Status: Repealed |
Westminster Bridge Act 1864 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Act for the better regulation of the traffic on Westminster Bridge and for the prevention of obstructions thereon. |
Citation | 27 & 28 Vict. c. 88 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 29 July 1864 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973 |
Status: Repealed |
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. [3] 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. [4] The bridge opened on 18 November 1750. [5]
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. [6] With a length of 820 feet (250 m) and a width of 85 feet (26 m), [7] it is a seven-arch, cast-iron [8] 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. [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. [10]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(November 2015) |
Vauxhall is an area of Central London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.
Lambeth is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as Lambehitha and in 1255 as Lambeth. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier Street near Lambeth North tube station, though nearby Charing Cross on the other side of the Thames in the City of Westminster is traditionally considered the centre of London.
Lambeth is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charing Cross, across the river from Westminster Palace. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area experienced some slight growth in the medieval period as part of the manor of Lambeth Palace. By the Victorian era the area had seen significant development as London expanded, with dense industrial, commercial and residential buildings located adjacent to one another. The changes brought by World War II altered much of the fabric of Lambeth. Subsequent development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has seen an increase in the number of high-rise buildings. The area is home to the International Maritime Organization. Lambeth is home to one of the largest Portuguese-speaking communities in the UK, and Portuguese is the second most commonly spoken language in Lambeth after English.
Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, it replaced an earlier bridge, originally known as Regent Bridge but later renamed Vauxhall Bridge, built between 1809 and 1816 as part of a scheme for redeveloping the south bank of the Thames. The bridge was built at a location in the river previously served by a ferry.
Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east–west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream, the next bridge is Vauxhall Bridge.
Putney Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north. Before the first bridge was built in 1729, a ferry had shuttled between the two banks.
Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfare for road traffic between the City of Westminster and the City of London.
The Company of Watermen and Lightermen (CWL) is a historic City guild in the City of London. However, unlike the city's 111 livery companies, CWL does not have a grant of livery. Its meeting rooms are at Waterman's Hall on St Mary at Hill, London.
Thames House is an office building in Millbank, London, on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge. Originally used as offices by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it has served as the headquarters of the United Kingdom's internal Security Service since December 1994. It also served as the London headquarters of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) until March 2013.
Albert Embankment is part of the river bank on the south side of the River Thames in Central London. It stretches approximately one mile (1.6 km) northward from Vauxhall Bridge to Westminster Bridge, and is located in the London Borough of Lambeth.
The A308 is a road in England in two parts. The first part runs from Central London to Putney Bridge. The second part runs from just beyond Putney Heath to Bisham, Berkshire. It traces four, roughly straight lines, to stay no more than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Thames. It is a dual carriageway where it is furthest from that river, in Spelthorne, Surrey and forms one of the motorway spurs to the large town of Maidenhead. Other key settlements served are Fulham, Kingston (London), Staines upon Thames, Windsor and a minor approach to Marlow
The A202 is a primary A road in London. It runs from New Cross Gate to London Victoria station. A section of the route forms a part of the London Inner Ring Road between Vauxhall and Victoria, known as Vauxhall Bridge Road.
The A3036 is an A road in London, England, running from Waterloo to Wandsworth.
Horseferry Road is a street in the City of Westminster in central London running between Millbank and Greycoat Place. It is perhaps best known as the site of City of Westminster Magistrates' Court. The ubiquity of the magistrates' court in newspaper crime reports means that the road name has wide recognition in the UK. Other notable institutions which are or have been located on Horseferry Road include Broadwood and Sons, the Gas Light and Coke Company, British Standards Institution, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Burberry Group, the Environment Agency headquarters in Horseferry House, the National Probation Service, the Department for Transport at no. 33 and Channel 4. The Marsham Street Home Office building backs on to this road.
Lambeth Marsh is one of the oldest settlements on the South Bank of London, England.
The 2nd Boat Race took place on the River Thames on 17 June 1836. It was the first of the University Boat Races to be held in London, on a five-and-three-quarter-mile stretch between Westminster and Putney. For the first time, Cambridge sported light blue livery in the form of a ribbon on their boat while Oxford rowed in dark blue jerseys. In a race umpired by Lord Loftus and Mr Hiceson, Cambridge won the race by 20 lengths to level the overall record at 1–1.
The 4th Boat Race took place on the River Thames on 15 April 1840. It was the third of the University Boat Races to be held on the Thames, between Westminster Bridge and Putney Bridge. Oxford University Boat Club was formed to assist in the selection of the Oxford crew. Nevertheless, Cambridge won the race by three-quarters of a length to lead the overall record at 3–1.
The 5th Boat Race took place on the River Thames on 14 April 1841. It was the fourth of the University Boat Races, a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, to be contested in London. The race was held between Westminster Bridge and Putney Bridge and was won by Cambridge, whose crew featured two pairs of brothers rowing, who defeated Oxford by a distance of 22 lengths in a time of 32 minutes and 30 seconds. The victory took the overall record in the event to 4–1 in Cambridge's favour.
The South Bank Lion is an 1837 sculpture in Central London. Since 1966 it has stood next to County Hall, on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is a significant depiction of a lion, along with the four that surround Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square just across the river.
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