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Lambeth Bridge: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 51°29′40″N 0°07′23″W / 51.49444°N 0.12306°W / 51.49444; -0.12306
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{{Short description|Grade II listed road bridge in London, United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
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|caption = [[River Thames]]; Lambeth Bridge with [[Vauxhall Bridge]] in the distance (as seen from [[London Eye]])
|caption = [[River Thames]]; Lambeth Bridge with [[Vauxhall Bridge]] in the distance (as seen from [[London Eye]])
|official_name =
|official_name =
|locale = [[London]], [[England]]
|locale = [[London]]
|carries = Lambeth Road
|carries = Lambeth Road
|crosses = [[River Thames]]
|crosses = [[River Thames]]
|maint =
|maint = [[Transport for London]]
|open = (first bridge) 10 November 1862<br />
|open = (first bridge) {{Start date and age|df=y|1862|11|10}}<br />
(second bridge) 19 July 1932
(second bridge) {{Start date and age|df=y|1932|7|19}}
|below =
|below =
|traffic =
|traffic =
|design = [[Arch Bridge]]
|design = [[Arch bridge|Arch]]
|toll = |coordinates = {{coord|51|29|40|N|0|07|23|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline, title}}
|toll = |coordinates = {{coord|51|29|40|N|0|07|23|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline, title}}
|mainspan =
|mainspan =
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}}
}}


'''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]].
'''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]].


The most conspicuous colour in the bridge's paint scheme is red, the same colour as the leather benches in the [[House of Lords]], which is at the southern end of the [[Palace of Westminster]] nearest the bridge. This is in contrast to Westminster Bridge, which is predominantly green, the same colour as the benches in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] at the northern end of the Houses of Parliament.
The most conspicuous colour in the bridge's paint scheme is red, the same colour as the leather benches in the [[House of Lords]], which is at the southern end of the [[Palace of Westminster]] nearest the bridge. This is in contrast to Westminster Bridge, which is predominantly green, the same colour as the benches in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] at the northern end of the Houses of Parliament.
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The [[London County Council]] prepared a masterplan for the area, including a replacement road bridge linking to a widened [[Horseferry Road]], which was authorised by ''London County Council (Lambeth Bridge) Act 1924''. Before work had started on the project, the [[1928 Thames flood]] caused extensive destruction of property in the Millbank area. Following the flood the [[Chelsea Embankment]] was rebuilt and raised, resulting in some minor redesign of the approaches, and creating the open space to the north of Lambeth Bridge now known as Victoria Tower Gardens South. During the period of delay, the bridge was also redesigned to be able to cope with a higher weight of motorised traffic.
The [[London County Council]] prepared a masterplan for the area, including a replacement road bridge linking to a widened [[Horseferry Road]], which was authorised by ''London County Council (Lambeth Bridge) Act 1924''. Before work had started on the project, the [[1928 Thames flood]] caused extensive destruction of property in the Millbank area. Following the flood the [[Chelsea Embankment]] was rebuilt and raised, resulting in some minor redesign of the approaches, and creating the open space to the north of Lambeth Bridge now known as Victoria Tower Gardens South. During the period of delay, the bridge was also redesigned to be able to cope with a higher weight of motorised traffic.


The current structure, a five-span steel arch, designed by engineer Sir [[George Humphreys]] and architects Sir [[Reginald Blomfield]] and [[G. Topham Forrest]],<ref>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-496913-lambeth-bridge-and-attached-parapets-lig Listing description on British Listed Buildings]</ref> was built by [[Dorman Long]]<ref>[http://thames.me.uk/s00140.htm Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide]</ref> and opened on 19 July 1932 by King [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]]. It formerly carried four lanes of road traffic (now reduced to three lanes, one of which is a buses-only lane flowing eastbound) from a [[roundabout]] junction by the [[Lambeth Palace]] northwards to another roundabout, where the [[Millbank]] road meets Horseferry Road .
The current structure, a five-span steel arch, designed by engineer Sir [[George Humphreys (civil engineer)|George Humphreys]] and architects Sir [[Reginald Blomfield]] and [[G. Topham Forrest]],<ref>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-496913-lambeth-bridge-and-attached-parapets-lig Listing description on British Listed Buildings]</ref> was built by [[Dorman Long]]<ref>[http://thames.me.uk/s00140.htm Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide]</ref> and opened on 19 July 1932 by King [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]]. It formerly carried four lanes of road traffic (now reduced to three lanes, one of which is a buses-only lane flowing eastbound) from a [[roundabout]] junction by the [[Lambeth Palace]] northwards to another roundabout, where the [[Millbank]] road meets Horseferry Road .


The bridge is notable at road level for the pairs of [[obelisk]]s at either end of the bridge, which are surmounted by stone [[pinecone]]s. However, there is a popular [[urban legend]] that they are [[pineapple]]s, as a tribute<ref>[http://www.vauxhallandkennington.org.uk/history.shtml commemorative pineapples]</ref> to Lambeth resident [[John Tradescant the younger]], who is said to have grown the first pineapple in Britain.<ref>[http://www.vauxhallcivicsociety.org.uk/history/tradescant-family/ Vauxhall Society:Tradescants] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407085316/http://www.vauxhallcivicsociety.org.uk/history/tradescant-family/ |date=7 April 2014 }}</ref>
The bridge is notable at road level for the pairs of [[obelisk]]s at either end of the bridge, which are surmounted by stone [[pinecone]]s. However, there is a popular [[urban legend]] that they are [[pineapple]]s, as a tribute<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vauxhallandkennington.org.uk/history.shtml |title=commemorative pineapples |access-date=16 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708200002/http://www.vauxhallandkennington.org.uk/history.shtml |archive-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to Lambeth resident [[John Tradescant the younger]], who is said to have grown the first pineapple in Britain.<ref>[http://www.vauxhallcivicsociety.org.uk/history/tradescant-family/ Vauxhall Society:Tradescants] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407085316/http://www.vauxhallcivicsociety.org.uk/history/tradescant-family/ |date=7 April 2014 }}</ref>


The bridge was declared a [[Listed building|Grade II listed structure]] in 2008, providing protection to preserve its special character from unsympathetic development.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7750180.stm|title=London bridges get listed status|publisher=BBC News|accessdate=26 November 2008|date=26 November 2008}}</ref> The listing designation includes the parapets, lamps, obelisks and the approach walls.
The bridge was declared a [[Listed building|Grade II listed structure]] in 2008, providing protection to preserve its special character from unsympathetic development.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7750180.stm|title=London bridges get listed status|publisher=BBC News|access-date=26 November 2008|date=26 November 2008}}</ref> The listing designation includes the parapets, lamps, obelisks and the approach walls.




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{{Commons category|Lambeth Bridge}}
{{Commons category|Lambeth Bridge}}
*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47053 Survey of London entry]
*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47053 Survey of London entry]
* {{Structurae|id=s0003156|title=Lambeth Bridge (1862)}}
* {{Structurae|id=20003156|title=Lambeth Bridge (1862)}}
* {{Structurae|id=s0003157|title=Lambeth Bridge (1932)}}
* {{Structurae|id=20003157|title=Lambeth Bridge (1932)}}
* [https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/photographs London Transport Museum Photographic Archive]
* [https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/collections-online/photographs London Transport Museum Photographic Archive]
** {{ltmcollection|41/9880641.jpg|Original Lambeth Bridge, looking south-east from Millbank, 1923}}
** {{LTM archive|1999-8095|Original Lambeth Bridge, looking south-east from Millbank, 1923}}
** {{ltmcollection|03/9877503.jpg|Southern Approach to original bridge showing its narrowness, 1923}}
** {{LTM archive|1999-20308|Southern Approach to original bridge showing its narrowness, 1923}}


{{-}}
{{-}}
<center>[[File:LambethBridge.jpg|thumbnail|none|600px|Lambeth Bridge seen from [[Albert Embankment]], looking north, downstream. [[Thames House]] is on the far left.]]</center>
[[File:LambethBridge.jpg|thumbnail|center|600px|Lambeth Bridge seen from [[Albert Embankment]], looking north, downstream. [[Thames House]] is on the far left.]]


{{ThamesCrossings | west=[[Vauxhall Bridge]] | east=[[Westminster Bridge]] }}
{{ThamesCrossings | west=[[Vauxhall Bridge]] | east=[[Westminster Bridge]] }}
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[[Category:Bridges across the River Thames]]
[[Category:Bridges across the River Thames]]
[[Category:Reginald Blomfield buildings]]
[[Category:Reginald Blomfield buildings]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in England]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Bridges in London]]
[[Category:Grade II listed bridges in London]]

Latest revision as of 16:43, 17 September 2024

Lambeth Bridge
River Thames; Lambeth Bridge with Vauxhall Bridge in the distance (as seen from London Eye)
Coordinates51°29′40″N 0°07′23″W / 51.49444°N 0.12306°W / 51.49444; -0.12306
CarriesLambeth Road
CrossesRiver Thames
LocaleLondon
Maintained byTransport for London
Preceded byVauxhall Bridge
Followed byWestminster Bridge
Characteristics
DesignArch
History
Opened(first bridge) 10 November 1862; 162 years ago (1862-11-10)
(second bridge) 19 July 1932; 92 years ago (1932-07-19)
Location
Map

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.

The most conspicuous colour in the bridge's paint scheme is red, the same colour as the leather benches in the House of Lords, which is at the southern end of the Palace of Westminster nearest the bridge. This is in contrast to Westminster Bridge, which is predominantly green, the same colour as the benches in the House of Commons at the northern end of the Houses of Parliament.

On the east side, in Lambeth, are Lambeth Palace, the Albert Embankment, St. Thomas' Hospital, and the International Maritime Organization. On the west side, in Westminster, are Thames House (the headquarters of MI5), behind which is Horseferry House (the National Probation Service headquarters), and Clelland House and Abell House (the headquarters of HM Prison Service), and the Millbank Tower and Tate Britain. The Palace of Westminster is a short walk downstream to the north through the Victoria Tower Garden.

History

[edit]
Detail from upstream with DUKW, Victoria Tower in centre
Lambeth Bridge from Millbank, facing east towards Lambeth
Map of 1897, showing Lambeth Palace, Lambeth Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge
The bridge nearest the camera is Westminster Bridge, the next bridge is Lambeth Bridge, and the bridge just visible in the distance is Vauxhall Bridge (as seen from the London Eye observation wheel)
Lambeth Bridge, seen from Millbank, looking north and downstream

Lambeth Bridge is on the site of a horse ferry between the Palace of Westminster and Lambeth Palace on the south bank.[1] Its name lives on in Horseferry Road, which forms the approach to the bridge on the north bank.

The first modern bridge was a suspension bridge, 828 feet (252.4 m) long, designed by Peter W. Barlow. Sanctioned by an Act of Parliament in 1860, it opened as a toll bridge on 10 November 1862.[2] Doubts about its safety, coupled with its awkwardly steep approaches deterring horse-drawn traffic, meant it soon became used almost solely as a pedestrian crossing. It ceased to be a toll bridge in 1879 when the Metropolitan Board of Works assumed responsibility for its upkeep — it was by then severely corroded, and by 1910 it was closed to vehicular traffic.

The London County Council prepared a masterplan for the area, including a replacement road bridge linking to a widened Horseferry Road, which was authorised by London County Council (Lambeth Bridge) Act 1924. Before work had started on the project, the 1928 Thames flood caused extensive destruction of property in the Millbank area. Following the flood the Chelsea Embankment was rebuilt and raised, resulting in some minor redesign of the approaches, and creating the open space to the north of Lambeth Bridge now known as Victoria Tower Gardens South. During the period of delay, the bridge was also redesigned to be able to cope with a higher weight of motorised traffic.

The current structure, a five-span steel arch, designed by engineer Sir George Humphreys and architects Sir Reginald Blomfield and G. Topham Forrest,[3] was built by Dorman Long[4] and opened on 19 July 1932 by King George V. It formerly carried four lanes of road traffic (now reduced to three lanes, one of which is a buses-only lane flowing eastbound) from a roundabout junction by the Lambeth Palace northwards to another roundabout, where the Millbank road meets Horseferry Road .

The bridge is notable at road level for the pairs of obelisks at either end of the bridge, which are surmounted by stone pinecones. However, there is a popular urban legend that they are pineapples, as a tribute[5] to Lambeth resident John Tradescant the younger, who is said to have grown the first pineapple in Britain.[6]

The bridge was declared a Grade II listed structure in 2008, providing protection to preserve its special character from unsympathetic development.[7] The listing designation includes the parapets, lamps, obelisks and the approach walls.


See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lambeth Bridge and its predecessor the Horseferry
  2. ^ "Lambeth Suspension Bridge". The Times. 11 November 1862. p. 5. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  3. ^ Listing description on British Listed Buildings
  4. ^ Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide
  5. ^ "commemorative pineapples". Archived from the original on 8 July 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  6. ^ Vauxhall Society:Tradescants Archived 7 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "London bridges get listed status". BBC News. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
[edit]
Lambeth Bridge seen from Albert Embankment, looking north, downstream. Thames House is on the far left.