Speaking of the secret services, the next bridge comes to ground alongside the other large secret service HQ, this time for MI6 at Vauxhall Cross. Vauxhall Bridge was originally proposed in th 1809 Act of Parliament that could have resulted in an earlier attempt at Lambeth Bridge. The plan was to create a new route from Hyde Park Corner to Greenwich, with the road crossing the river at Vauxhall. The bridge was design by James Walker and was London's first cast iron bridge. It had nine arches and charged tolls from its opening in 1816 until 1879.As we have seen with other bridges, tidal scour started to make the original Vauxhall Bridge dangerous. Repairs were too expensive and a temporary wooden bridge was put in place until a replacement could be constructed. In 1898 demolition of the original bridge commenced, but it was a further six years before work began on the bridge we see today.
The present day bridge was designed by Sir Alexander Binnie following adapting a earlier design by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice (someone should really have had a word with his parents!). The bridge has five spans and was the first in London to carry trams. A notable feature of the bridge is its decoration. Its piers feature huge bronze statues stood in heroic pose. The statues were created by Alfred Drury and F.W. Pomeroy and each symbolise a different profession. On the upstream side they portray pottery, engineering, architecture and agriculture, while on the downstream side science, fine arts, local government and education are represented.
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