Bridges No.8 - Blackfriars Bridge

Blackfriars Bridge, carrying road and foot traffic, is the third oldest bridge crossing of the Thames in London, but like many London bridge's this is not the original. In 1753 London was in need of a new bridge and a new gateway into the City. A design competition was held in 1759 and Robert Mylne was the victor. The design was quite different from the present day bridge, consisting of nine arches. When the foundation stone was laid in it was named Pitt Bridge, after the then Prime Minister, William Pitt. However, by 1769 when the bridge opened Pitt had become deeply unpopular and so earlier name was swiftly dropped in favour of Blackfriars. Like many of the impressive buildings built in London at the time the Mylne bridge was constructed out of Portland stone. Hovever the saline waters of the Thames and the pollution from the nearby confluence of the River Fleet led to the erosion of the bridge supports and by the 1840s is was clear that Blackfriars would have to be replaced.

Mylne's bridge was finally demolished in 1860 to be replaced by a temporary crossing. In the meantime a replacement was being designed by Joseph Cubitt. Originally a three arch bridge was proposed, but soon after a new bridge was required for the railway into St Paul's (later Blackfriars) station. Cubitt was appointed to design the railway bridge as well, which led to the designs for the road bridge to be adapted. As the two bridges were so close together, the road bridge also had to have five arches.