Battersea Bridge was formally the site of a ferry crossing of the Thames but in 1766 Parliament passed an Act permitting the construction of a toll bridge at this point. Earl Spencer oversaw the project, but despite finding fifteen investors could not raise sufficient funds for the bridge. The design had to be compromised and rather than building the bridge from stone, wood was used. The bridge was design by Henry Holland and included 19 spans. Bear in mind that this is the narrowest crossing point in London, so the gaps between piers would have been tiny indeed. It caused immense problems for river navigation and bridge collisions were a regular occurence. The bridge opened in 1771 and by 1795 further money had been raised to enable some spans to be replaced by iron, allowing piers to be removed. With the Victoria Bridge (later known as Chelsea Bridge) opening downstream in 1858, Battersea Bridge became less popular and toll revenues declined. As with other bridges the Metropolitan Board of Works also purchased Battersea who found an need to replace the bridge. In 1883 the bridge was closed and a temporaory bridge opened in 1885 so that work on a new bridge could begin in 1886.
The new bridge was design by the MWB's engineer, Sir Joseph Bazalgette and opened in 1890. It consists of five cantilevered spans of wrought iron and steel supported on granite piers. The new bridge itself is not immune to collission from boats. On 20 September 2005 a gravel carrying barge hit the bridge and it was closed to traffic while repair work was carried out. It eventually reopened in January 2006.
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