The Bridge House Estates is a charitable trust, originating in the late eleventh century and formally established by royal charter in 1282 by the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England. It was originally established to maintain
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
and, subsequently, other bridges. Funded by bridge tolls and charitable donations, the trust acquired an extensive property portfolio which made it more than self-sufficient. As well as maintaining the bridges, the estates also makes other charitable grants through the City Bridge Trust, their grant-making arm.
It is one of three funds managed by the City of London, the other two being the City Fund and the
City's Cash
City's Cash is an endowment fund, overseen by the City of London Corporation, built up over 800 years and passed from generation to generation to fund services that the Corporation claims benefit London and the nation as a whole. It is one of th ...
.
Since it was established, the trust has maintained, and on several occasions replaced, London Bridge. The trust also built
Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Chu ...
and
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...
, and purchased
Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge ( ) is an arch bridge in London, for traffic linking the district of Southwark and the City across the River Thames. Besides when others are closed for temporary repairs, it has the least traffic of the Thames bridges in Londo ...
from the toll-exacting private company that built it. Most recently it took over ownership and maintenance of the pedestrian-only
Millennium Bridge Several bridges are known as the Millennium Bridge:
* in the United Kingdom
**Gateshead Millennium Bridge
** Lune Millennium Bridge, Lancaster
** Millennium Bridge, Glasgow
** Millennium Bridge, London
** Millennium Bridge (Salford Quays)
** Teesqua ...
, having provided a large amount of the funding for its construction.
The estate owns significant amounts of property in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, including the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
.
Until 1995, the trust was permitted to use its income only for expenditure on its bridges. However, with a surplus of income over expenditure, a
cy-près scheme was adopted in that year to allow any surplus income to be used for other charitable purposes benefiting
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
. These grants are made through the City Bridge Trust.
[
]
Bridge House
The trust took its name from ''Bridge House'', which was the administrative and maintenance centre of Old London Bridge located on the south bank of the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, near the site of St Olave's Church (since replaced by ''St Olaf
Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...
House'' in Tooley Street
Tooley Street is a road in central and south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (.)
St Olave
The earliest nam ...
). The site, now covered by the London Bridge Hospital and the Cotton's Centre, was constituted of at least two properties in Southwark. The first was that of Peter of Colechurch the warden of the bridge from 1163, and probably a monastic dwelling. The second property was the house left by will of Henry Fitz Ailwyn, first named Mayor of London, in 1215.
The bridge became part of the City's jurisdiction from 1282, and this led to the City attempting to extend control over Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, succeeding in acquiring the 'vill of Southwark' alias the Guildable Manor
Guildable Manor is a Court Leet in Southwark under the authority of the City of London, along with the King's Manor, Southwark, and the Great Liberty. The name of 'Guildable' first recorded in 1377 refers to the collection of taxes there and ...
in 1327.
Logo
Known as the ''Bridge Mark'', the logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
of Bridge House Estates is one of the oldest logos in continuous use and can be found carved into stonework in many places along the riverfront. It has been the identifying emblem of the Bridge House Estates for many centuries, but the latter now uses the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
arms as an emblem. The City Bridge Trust uses the mark as a logo.
It was thought likely that the mark as we know it today was designed by a famous 17th-century surveyor, William Leybourn
William Leybourn (16261716) was an English mathematician and land surveyor, author, printer and bookseller.
Career as a printer
During the late 1640s Robert Leybourn's press in Monkswell Street near Cripplegate, London was occupied with books a ...
. It appears drawn on a plan of 1680 which it is thought he adapted from a similar mark drawn against plots owned by Bridge House Estates on an earlier plan of St George's Fields
St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in south London, England.
History
Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south side of the Thames, which was low-lying marshland unsuitable even for agricultural purposes. There ...
in Southwark. The City sword rest from the church of St Olave, Southwark (now in the north transept of Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...
) has the Bridge Mark carved onto it to balance the City's shield, and shows a date of 1674.
Governance
The trust was established by the grant of a royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
on 24 May 1282, and the sole trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...
is the City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
. The trustee is the legal but not beneficial owner
Beneficial owner is a legal term where specific property rights ("use and title") in equity belong to a person even though legal title of the property belongs to another person. Beneficial owner is subject to a state's statutory laws regulating i ...
of the trust property—it may only be used for the legitimate purposes for which the fund was created.
Bridge House Estates and its grantmaking arm (the City Bridge Trust) are run by a committee of the City of London Corporation called the Bridge House Estates Board, the chairmanship of which is held by a Common Councilman on a three-year rotation. the current Chair is Giles Shilson.
In addition to its royal charter of 1282, the Bridge House Estates operates with respect to various legislative powers e.g. the ''Blackfriars Bridge Act 1863'', the ''Blackfriars and Southwark Bridge Act 1867'', the ''Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act 1885'' for its maintenance role and for its general charitable role under the ''Charities (The Bridge House Estates) Order 1995'' (Statutory Instrument
In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation.
United Kingdom
Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom.
National government
Statutory instrument ...
1047), and the ''Charities (The Bridge House Estates) Order 2001'' (Statutory Instrument 4017).
Finances
Originally funded by tolls on London Bridge, the rents and leases of the buildings that were on it and also by charitable donations, the Bridge House Estates acquired an extensive property portfolio which made it self-sufficient.[
The fund administered by the Bridge House Estates is solely responsible for the five City Bridges. There is no financial support from the government or any other fund. If one of the bridges happened to collapse, the charity would have to rebuild it out of the endowment. The good stewardship of the property and investments of the estates by the City has led to the accumulation of surplus funds over any such demand on its resources. Therefore, the City sought from the Charity Commission to implement a cy-près scheme to extend its objects (purposes) since September 1995 to make charitable grants within the ]Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality
*Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
*Greater (song), "Greate ...
area.[
In 2019, total income of the Bridge House Estates was £43.1 million and total expenditure and reinvestment was £53.1 million. The total funds held by the estates are in excess of £1.5 billion.
]
References
External links
City Bridge Trust
*
{{Authority control
1282 establishments in England
Charitable trusts
Charities based in London
Finances of the City of London
Foundations based in the United Kingdom
Organisations based in the City of London