The London Bridge Has Never Fallen Down (But it Has Been Rebuilt Many Times)

Despite childhood popularity of the famed nursery rhyme, the London Bridge is not falling down. In fact, it has never fallen down. It has, however, been rebuilt a number of times. And it is a distinctly different bridge than either the Tower Bridge or the Westminster Bridge, both of which people often mistakenly believe is the London Bridge.

For the past 2,000 years, the position of the bridge has remained a nexus for economic development, although its physical construction has changed several times. The London Bridge as we know it today spans the River Thames, connecting two vibrant neighborhoods—London and Southwark. It has welcomed visitors for two millennia.

But the London Bridge we know is not the only bridge that has ever stood on that site in London. The current structure dates from the late 20th century, but the history of the bridges that have stood on that site is considerably longer.

The story of the London Bridge begins with a Roman invasion and the founding of the settlement of Londinium.

The Roman Bridge

What is called the London Bridge today got its start as a military pontoon bridge built by the Romans when they were settling the area, according to David Green, principal of global design firm Perkins & Will, who also is an expert on the history of cities, including the roles of transportation and bridges in their development.

The Roman bridge was probably destroyed by Boudicca, the Queen of British Celtic Iceni tribe who conquered the Romans in AD 60. This would have been later rebuilt but fell into disrepair with the end of the Roman rule in the early 5th century.

The Saxon & Norman Bridge

Æthelred the Unready built a new bridge in the late 10th century, but the Viking leader Olaf Haraldsson took it down in 1014. A Saxon bridge went up next, and, following the Norman Conquest, King William rebuilt the bridge in 1066. (This is the same time during which the Tower of London was built.)

A tornado in 1091 destroyed the bridge. It was replaced, but the new bridge was destroyed by fire in 1136, so it was again rebuilt. In 1163, the London Bridge was built for the last time in timber, designed by Peter of Colechurch (aka Peter the Bridge Master, chaplain of St. Mary Colechurch). Subsequent bridges were built in stone.

The Medieval Bridge

King Henry II commissioned the first stone structure, also designed by Peter of Colechurch, built on the same site around 800 years ago. He included on the bridge a stone chapel to memorialize his martyred friend, Thomas Becket, the former Archbishop of Canterbury. The Chapel of St. Thomas on the Bridge was near the center and was used for religious purposes until Henry VIII’s Reformation in 1548. The building remained in secular use until the mid-18th century. Situated slightly to the west of the Timber Bridge location, it was a simple masonry arched bridge, like the Pont Neuf in Paris. This “Old London Bridge” was used as both a river crossing and a development site, much like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

The old London Bridge had some structural issues, as it apparently crumbled in 1281 (due to ice damage), and again in 1309, 1425 and 1437. But, with repairs, the medieval London Bridge lasted for 600 years—from 1209 to 1831. It was the only river crossing for most of that time, as Westminster Bridge, the second bridge over The Thames, wasn’t built until 1750.

For a half century, this stone version of the London Bridge was topped with buildings, residences, shops and a chapel, which eventually caused it to become overcrowded and unstable. As a result, in the 18th century, the city started removing the buildings. But as the London Bridge continued to be a major transportation route, even without its buildings, structural problems appeared. The arches deteriorated, and the bridge, which had experienced a variety of damage, was also slowly sinking.

The Masonry Stone Bridge

By the 1820s, the London Bridge was deemed structurally problematic. Thus, a new bridge was proposed and was completed in 1831—a masonry stone structure that was sturdier and highly engineered. Proposed by Scottish civil engineer John Rennie and constructed by his sons, the bridge was situated upstream from the 12th-century bridge, which was quickly demolished. It lasted just 140 years.

By the 1920s, the city knew that renovation or reconstruction would be necessary, but the second bridge remained until the late 1960s when it was finally replaced.

Interestingly, the 19th-century London Bridge was sold to Robert P. McCulloch, Sr., a chain saw magnate who founded Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He purchased the bridge in 1968 for $2.4 million plus shipping costs of around $240,000, and had it shipped to its new home, where it was reconstructed above a man-made channel. Today, it’s the second most-visited tourist attraction in Arizona. In fact, the Lake Havasu website boasts that Lake Havasu is “Home of the London Bridge,” and that advertising message is a registered U.S. trademark.

The London Bridge of Today

The London Bridge we know today was designed by city engineer Harold Knox King with architects Mott, Hay & Anderson and William Holford & Partners. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1973.

The bridge features three spans founded on concrete piers and is constructed of concrete and polished granite. The structure is similar to most overpasses in U.S. highway construction. It is not generally a site that tourists visit for its beauty, especially considering the historical architecture throughout London. However, the London Bridge offers an excellent location from which to take photos of the nearby Tower Bridge.

While the London Bridge has never fallen down, bridge piers are susceptible to damage from shipping vessels and from the force of the river rushing through it. This is what finished the life of the medieval bridge (and probably earlier bridges, as well).