DID YOU KNOW THE FIRST LONDON BRIDGE was erected around AD80
in the Southwark area?
And London Bridge is the MOST FAMOUS bridge in the world.
It was possibly made by the invading Romans, before the
Saxons took over.
The bridge used to be made out of wood, not concrete like
today.
Today it just looks plain, boring, and in a way it needs to
be rescued... here’s why.
History of the greatest bridge in the world: London Bridge
In 1014, the Great Danes invaded Britain. They hurled spears
and pulled the Bridge down, hence “London Bridge is falling down, falling down,
falling down.”
The next bridge was made of stone and had a road 20 feet
wide with town houses on to pay the rent, 20 arches, plus a drawbridge. The
bridge lasted 600 years and would possibly be the best looking bridge in the
world at that point. In fact, it would still be the best looking bridge in the
world today: a major tourist attraction, a world wonder.
Picture of old London Bridge - taken from this excellent blog: http://bldgblog.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/wed-all-be-living-in-dams.html.
But again greed destroyed it as Queen Eleanor would not put all the money collected from tolls on the bridge into the upkeep and it fell into disrepair, leading to five arches of the bridge falling into the Thames again.
There was a Stone Gate House on one end where heads of
traitors were put on poles, including the great Oliver Cromwell in the 17th
Century.
A new London Bridge was built in 1831 when the old bridge
suffered from the great freeze. It was now built out of granite. However,
measurements found the bridge had sunk 12 inches so a new bridge had to be
made.
On the 17th of March 1973 Queen Elizabeth 2nd
opened the new concrete bridge which still exists today.
Information summarised from this great resource: http://oldlondonbridge.com/index.shtml
Why did I try to stop someone seeing London Bridge?
I was walking down Tooley Street, just at More London when a
girl says: “Sorry, I’m looking for London Bridge?” in a European accent.
So I told her it was in the opposite direction. But, I
advised she could see Tower Bridge if she walked along the gap alongside Ernst
and Young as it was just two minutes away.
However she refused. She insisted on seeing London Bridge.
She said she had come to London to see London Bridge.
Now, my knowledge of history when I was at Nursery school
only extended to ‘London Bridge is falling down,’ I admit I did not know of
Tower Bridge as a child. But I wanted to help a tourist see something
spectacular like Tower Bridge so she could go home and say England is a great
place to visit. But no, she did not want to see Tower Bridge - she did not know
what Tower Bridge was - she knew of London Bridge.
What could I do? I tried to tell her to start at Tower
Bridge and take the Thames path to London Bridge; it’s just two minutes away
and I even pointed out how London Bridge is just a plain bridge. She was not
having it. SHE CAME TO ENGLAND TO SEE LONDON BRIDGE.
And so I pointed her the way to London Bridge, and said at
least from there you can see Tower Bridge and walk back.
What do you see at London Bridge today?
When you get on the bridge, you see... a concrete bridge and
a tarmac road, just like any bridge anywhere in the world. The bridge itself is
just so plain, so not fascinating that it really is just a functional bridge. Any
bridge that crosses a stream in the woods has more character.
If there were no famous landmarks around and I did not know
it was London Bridge, I would not even look twice at it. It really is that
plain.
To save London Bridge from total disappointment when you get
there, the good thing is that you can see other landmarks that are fascinating.
Even its younger sister Tower Bridge is a beauty to look at:
while you are standing on London Bridge.
You’ll find the government always decorates Tower Bridge
(see the Olympic 2012 rings), and it is the bridge that cameras always focus on
by television broadcasters – as they ignore plain old London Bridge.
I do feel sorry for London Bridge, as big brother is the
most famous bridge in the world. So how can the government turn London Bridge
into a world wonder, the de facto tourist spot for engineers and photographers
to visit?
The London Bridge Legacy
Why not have a historical timeline on the wall for tourists
to look at while they walk across London Bridge, with pictures and
illustrations.
On the outside of the bridge, why not decorate London
Bridge so that it looks like it did when there were shops and the Stone Gate
House so you can get a nostalgic feel of what it was like way back when. On the
other outside wall, it could look like when it was built at another time
period, say when it was just a wooden bridge 2000 years ago.
How about putting a few replica town houses on the Bridge
for tourists to look out of? They don’t have to be the full version because the
pavement is only so wide. In fact, there must be a way to extend out the bridge
to create more walking space and the replica town houses.
I understand there will be security, health and safety,
stepping on planners toes politics issues to consider, but hey, people say British
are great innovators so the government should be able to find a solution to
this.
Do you think London Bridge could be a better tourist
attraction?
If you agree, why not share this article.
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