London Bridge

The history of old London Bridge for eight centuries includes some of the most stirring events in English history. There were several successive wooden bridges here before 1176 A. D., when the stone structure arose which was the veritable "Old London Bridge," that has been famous for more than 650 years. Eighteen solid stone piers, within 900 feet, gave a substantial basis for Ray's proverb "London Bridge was made for wise men to go over and fools to go under." A solid base also for the village which was built upon it. Fuller says: "Such as see it from beneath, where it is a bridge, cannot suspect that it is a street; and such who behold it above, where it is a street, cannot believe that it is a bridge."

In the time of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603) stately and beautiful houses adorned either side, some with flat roofs, gardens and arbors. It had a gate house at each end, and towards the center on the east side there was a beautiful Gothic chapel called "St. Peter's of the Bridge." The shops or stores were devoted to bookselling and publishing, but later in its history they were devoted to the pin trade. The heads of executed traitors were long exhibited above the Gate of London Bridge, notably William Wallace (1305), Sir Thomas Moore (1553), and the regicides. In the "Battle of London Bridge" (1008), King Olaf, of Norway, assisted Ethelred II. to repel the Danes. Simon de Montfort here repulsed Henry III. in 1264.

In the various rebellions, London Bridge was a center. Wat Tyler, 1381; Jack Cade, 1450; Wyatt, 1554. In the Great Fire, 1666, the houses were burned, but rebuilt twenty years later; in 1757 the houses were removed to make room for traffic; in 1732 the old Bridge was demolished to give freer room for navigation. The present granite structure, opened by William the Fourth (1831), is a marvel for its enormous traffic. In twenty-four hours the average number of vehicles that cross is 20,000; pedestrians, 107,000. The lamp-posts are made from captured cannons. The Bridge is 54 feet wide and 920 in length.