Bridges No.5 - Southwark Bridge

Next up is another bridge which is not the original crossing at its present site. The original crossing came about, like the other bridges, to ease congestion and London's economy grew. The Southwark Bridge Company was established in 1813 and commissioned John Rennie, the designer of the 1831 London Bridge. The design was a cast iron bridge of three arches and operated as a private tollbridge, much to the dislike of the Corporation of London. The bridge opened in 1819 but it prooved to be an unpopular crossing. Approaches to the bridge on both banks were inadequate, the road surface was humped and the presence of tolls were all to its detriment. But in 1864 tolls were dropped and its usage increased. However, it was a double-edged sword and as its popularity grew it became clear that the bridge was too narrow.

The bridge was demolished in 1913, but with the outbreak of World War 1 its replacement wasn't complete until 1921. The new bridge was designed by architect Ernest George and civil engineer Basil Mott.