Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.

 History 
The first bridge on the site was designed in 1809-10 by John Rennie for the Strand Bridge Company and opened in 1817 as a toll bridge. The granite bridge had nine arches, each of  span, separated by double Grecian-Doric stone columns and was  long, including approaches. Before its opening it was known as 'Strand Bridge'. During the 1840s the bridge gained a reputation as a popular place for suicide attempts. In 1844 Thomas Hood wrote the poem The Bridge of Sighs about the suicide of a prostitute there.Ebeneezer Brewer (1970), Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable Cassell. p.152. Paintings of the bridge were created by the French Impressionist Claude Monet and English Impressionist, John Constable. The bridge was nationalised in 1878 and given to the Metropolitan Board of Works, who removed the toll from it.

In June 2012, the bridge was highlighted on the route of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames.Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, Key facts ; Londontown.com, "Thames Jubilee Pageant,"; retrieved 2012-6-4.

Gallery

Related pages 
 List of crossings of the River Thames

References

Other websites

Survey of London entry 
Peter Lind & Company 



Category:Bridges in London
Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
Category:Transport in the City of Westminster
Category:Stone bridges
Category:Concrete bridges
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in London