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Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over 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 ...
in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, linking
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the House of Commons which is on the side of the Palace of Westminster nearest to the bridge, but a natural shade similar to
verdigris Verdigris is the common name for blue-green, copper-based pigments that form a patina on copper, bronze, and brass. The technical literature is ambiguous as to its chemical composition. Some sources refer to "neutral verdigris" as copper(II) ...
. This is in contrast to Lambeth Bridge, which is red, the same colour as the seats in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...
and is on the opposite side of the Houses of Parliament. In 2005–2007, it underwent a complete refurbishment, including replacing the iron fascias and repainting the whole bridge. It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with County Hall and the London Eye on the east and was the finishing point during the early years of the London Marathon. The next bridge downstream is the Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridges and upstream is Lambeth Bridge. Westminster Bridge was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1981.


History

For over 600 years (at least 1129–1729), the nearest Thames bridge to London Bridge was at Kingston. From late Tudor times congestion in trading hours at London Bridge (for road goods and carriages from
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
, much of
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
and beyond) often amounted to more than an hour. A bridge at Westminster was proposed in 1664, but opposed by the
Corporation of London 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 Ki ...
and the watermen. Further opposition held sway in 1722. However an intervening bridge (albeit in timber) was built at Putney in 1729 and the scheme received parliamentary approval in 1736. Financed by private capital, lotteries and grants, Westminster Bridge was built between 1739–1750, under the supervision of the Swiss engineer Charles Labelye. The bridge opened on 18 November 1750. 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 f ...
responded to Westminster Bridge and the population growth by removing the buildings on London Bridge and widening it in 1760–63. With Putney Bridge, the bridge paved the way for four others within three decades: Blackfriars Bridge (1769, built by the City), Kew Bridge (1759), Battersea Bridge (1773), and Richmond Bridge (1777) by which date roads and vehicles were improved and fewer regular goods transported by water. The bridge assisted the expanding West End to the developing South London as well as goods and carriages from the more estuarine counties and the East Sussex and Kentish ports. Without the bridge, traffic to and from the greater West End would have to negotiate streets often as congested as London Bridge, principally the Strand/Fleet Street and New Oxford Street/Holborn. Roads on both sides of the river were also built and improved, including Charing Cross Road and around the Elephant & Castle in Southwark. By the mid-19th century the bridge was subsiding badly and expensive to maintain. The current bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened on 24 May 1862. With a length of and a width of , it is a seven-arch, cast-iron bridge with
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
detailing by
Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respon ...
(the architect of the Palace of Westminster). The bridge carried a tram line for much of the first half of the twentieth century, from 1909 until 1952. On 5 July that year the last tram made a ceremonial journey across the bridge. Since the removal of Rennie's
New 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 ...
in 1967 it is the oldest road structure which crosses the Thames in central London. On 22 March 2017, a terrorist attack started on the bridge and continued into Bridge Street and
Old Palace Yard Old Palace Yard is a paved open space in the City of Westminster in Central London, England. It lies between the Palace of Westminster to its north and east and Westminster Abbey to its west. It is known as the site of executions, including those ...
. Five people – three pedestrians, one police officer, and the attacker – died as a result of the incident. A colleague of the officer (who was stationed nearby) was armed and shot the attacker. More than 50 people were injured. An investigation into the attack was conducted by the Metropolitan Police.


Image gallery

File:Canaletto - Westminster Bridge, with the Lord Mayor's Procession on the Thames - Google Art Project.jpg, The first Westminster Bridge as painted by Canaletto, 1747. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven. File:Westminster Bridge 1750.jpg, Westminster Bridge, around 1750. The proprietors of the bridge had to pay compensation to the operators of the earlier 'Horseferry', and to local watermen File:Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge 1897.jpg, 1897 map, showing Lambeth Palace, Lambeth Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge File:Rocque Vauxhall and Westminster (cropped).png, Westminster & Lambeth, 1746. Westminster Bridge, opened in 1740, connects
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
to Lambeth; Huntley Ferry crosses the river on the site of the future Vauxhall Bridge File:Joseph Mallord William Turner, English - The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834 - Google Art Project.jpg, ''
The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons ''The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16th October, 1834'' is the title of two oil on canvas paintings by J. M. W. Turner, depicting different views of the fire that broke out at the Houses of Parliament on the evening of 16 Oct ...
'' by
J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbul ...
, 1835, with Westminster Bridge on the right File:London - Lanterns on Westminster Bridge.jpg, Street lamps on the bridge File:Coats of Arms, Westminster Bridge, London - geograph.org.uk - 1404551.jpg, The coats of arms of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
and Albert, Prince Consort on the bridge File:Westminster Bridge detail.jpg, The coat of arms of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston on the bridge. Palmerston was Prime Minister when the current bridge was opened. File:Westminster Bridge By-Laws Notice.jpg, Westminster Bridge By-Laws Notice File:Redlion.jpg, The South Bank Lion at the east end of Westminster Bridge


In popular culture

*In the 1964 '' Doctor Who'' serial '' The Dalek Invasion of Earth'', the Daleks are seen moving across it in the 22nd Century. *In the 2002 British horror film '' 28 Days Later'', the protagonist awakes from a coma to find London deserted and walks over an eerily empty Westminster Bridge whilst looking for signs of life. *Westminster Bridge is the start and finish point for the Bridges Handicap Race, a traditional London running race. * William Wordsworth wrote the sonnet ''
Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 "Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" is a Petrarchan sonnet by William Wordsworth describing London and the River Thames, viewed from Westminster Bridge in the early morning. It was first published in the collection '' ...
''. *The bridge was the site of a Pit Stop during the fourth season of the Israeli version of ''The Amazing Race''. *In the finale of the 24th ''James Bond'' film ''
Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and wri ...
'', Blofeld's helicopter crashes into Westminster Bridge.


See also

*
List of crossings of the River Thames The River Thames is the second-longest river in the United Kingdom, passes through the capital city, and has many crossings. Counting every channel – such as by its islands linked to only one bank – it is crossed by over 300 brid ...
* List of bridges in London


References


External links

* *
Interactive Panorama: Westminster Bridge
{{Authority control Transport in the City of Westminster Transport in the London Borough of Lambeth Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth Bridges completed in 1750 Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United Kingdom Bridges completed in 1862 Bridges across the River Thames Road bridges in England History of the London Borough of Lambeth Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade II* listed bridges in London Arch bridges in the United Kingdom 1750 establishments in England Bridges in London Bridge light displays