The Bridges of London Trivia Quiz

The starting point of our trip down the Thames is Chiswick Bridge, a five-arch bridge built in 1933 to connect Chiswick on the north bank of the Thames with Mortlake on the south bank, on the A316 road.

The finishing line for the University Boat Race is about 120 yards east (downstream) of the bridge, marked by a stone on the south shore and a painted Cambridge Blue and Oxford Blue wooden obelisk on the north shore.

Our second bridge on the way downstream is Hammersmith Bridge (Barnes Railway and Footbridges not included). Hammersmith Bridge was originally built in 1827, but it was replaced with the present suspension bridge in 1887. It connects Hammersmith on the north bank of the Thames with Castelnau on the south bank, on the A306 road.

Hammersmith Bridge has had a chequered history. The first bridge, a suspension bridge, was built in 1827, but fears for its safety were expressed when in 1870 about 12,000 people crowded onto it to watch the University Boat Race. Its replacement, another suspension bridge, was designed by the civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette (famous for his creation of London's sewage system) and was built in 1887.

The bridge has been attacked three times by the IRA, in 1939, 1996 and 2000. I've no idea what the attraction was of this particular bridge to make it a target. However it has long had structural problems, which brought about its closure to motor vehicle traffic in 2019 and then total closure in 2020. Happily, the bridge was partially reopened in 2021.

In late December 1919 a brave RAF officer dived from the bridge into the Thames to rescue a drowning woman. The woman survived, but sadly he was injured in the process and contracted tetanus from which he died. There's a memorial on the bridge to commemorate his actions.

Our third bridge is Putney Bridge which was originally built in 1729 but was replaced in 1886 with the present five-arch bridge. It connects Fulham on the north bank of the Thames with Putney on the south bank.

The original Putney Bridge was built of timber, but was badly damaged when it was hit by a barge in 1870. The present bridge was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. It has medieval parish churches at both ends: St Mary's Church, Putney on the south bank and All Saints Church, Fulham on the north bank. The starting point of the University Boat Race is at the iron aqueduct just a few meters upstream from the bridge.

Going past the Fulham Railway and Footbridges we come to the fourth bridge, Wandsworth Bridge. This was originally built in 1873, but was replaced with the present cantilever bridge in 1940. It connects Fulham on the north bank of the Thames with Wandsworth on the south bank, on the A217 road.

The first bridge - a plain, utilitarian structure - proved not to be strong enough for more modern traffic and was demolished in 1937. Its replacement, opened in 1940, is equally unprepossessing - in fact it's still painted in the blue camouflage colours it had when it opened. It's one of London's busiest bridges, carrying over 50,000 vehicles per day, but its drab colour scheme and minimalist design have led to it being described as "probably the least noteworthy bridge in London".

The Wandsworth area is best known for Wandsworth Prison where a number of famous people, including all those listed in the clue, have spent time in custody.

After Battersea Railway Bridge we come to our fifth bridge, Battersea Bridge. This was originally built in 1771 but was replaced with the present five-span arch bridge in 1890. It connects Chelsea on the north bank of the Thames with Battersea on the south bank.

The first wooden bridge was poorly designed and suffered various mishaps, for example boats frequently colliding with it. It was, however, the subject of many paintings by such artists as J. M. W. Turner and James McNeill Whistler. It was demolished in 1885 and replaced in 1890 by the present bridge, designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. The Thames makes a sharp bend at this point which presents a difficulty to shipping, and the bridge has suffered a number of incidents of ships colliding with it.

Battersea is perhaps most famous for the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, which has been situated in the borough since 1871 - hence the clue! This large-scale animal rescue centre has cared for more than three million dogs and cats over the last 150 years.

Our sixth bridge is the Albert Bridge, built in 1873 to connect Chelsea on the north bank of the Thames with Battersea on the south bank, on the A3031 road. It is, of course, named after Prince Albert.

The Albert Bridge is a strange hybrid of three types of bridge design; the original build was modified by Sir Joseph Bazalgette in the 1880s and then more changes were made in 1973.

The bridge is one of the nicest in London. It's painted pink,, blue and green to increase its visibility to river traffic at night, and it's adorned with 4,000 low-energy tungsten-halogen bulbs to light it up.

Our seventh bridge is Chelsea Bridge, built in 1858 and originally named the Victoria Bridge. It was demolished in the mid-1930s and replaced with the present suspension bridge which opened in 1937. It connects Chelsea on the north bank of the Thames with Battersea on the south bank, on the A3216 road.

So why did they change the name of the bridge? - well, the first bridge was narrow and known to be structurally unsound, so the government decided to rename it as Chelsea Bridge in order to avoid the possibility of the royal family being associated with a potential collapse and consequently embarrassed.

Large quantities of Roman and Celtic weapons and skeletons were found during the construction of the first bridge, leading archaeologists to believe that this was the site of Julius Caesar's crossing of the Thames during his invasion of Britain in 54 BCE. The most significant item found was a Celtic bronze and enamel now known as the Battersea Shield, one of the most important pieces of Celtic military equipment found in Britain.

Chelsea is the location of the Royal Hospital Chelsea which provides accommodation for 300 retired members of the British Army who are known as the Chelsea pensioners, hence the clue.

Going past Grosvenor Railway Bridge we arrive at our eighth bridge, Vauxhall.
Originally called the Regent Bridge after the Prince Regent, it was built in 1816 but was replaced with the present arch bridge in 1932. It connects Pimlico on the north bank of the Thames with Vauxhall on the south bank on the A202 road.

The area has a number of significant attractions, for example the Tate Britain art museum at the northern end of the bridge and the Oval Cricket Ground at the southern end. The name "Vauxhall", however, derives from the famous Vauxhall Gardens which were founded sometime before 1660 as a pleasure garden and entertainment space. Right up until they finally closed in 1859 the Gardens were renowned for plays, concerts and quite a bit of vice!

Our ninth bridge, Lambeth, was originally built in 1862 but was replaced with the present five-span arch bridge in 1932. It connects Westminster on the north bank of the Thames with Lambeth on the south bank on the A3203 road.

The bridge is mainly painted red, reflecting the colour of the leather benches of the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster at the north end of the bridge. At the south end of the bridge is Lambeth Palace, the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

With two-thirds of our cruise gone we arrive at Westminster Bridge. This was originally built in 1750 but was replaced with the present seven-span arch bridge in 1862. It connects Westminster on the north bank of the Thames with Lambeth on the south bank on the A302 road.

The bridge is mainly painted green, reflecting the colour of the leather benches of the House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster at the north end of the bridge. There are some nice cityscape paintings of Westminster bridge by the Italian artists Canaletto around 1747.

The clue refers to the first line of the poem "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" by William Wordsworth.

Passing Hungerford and the Golden Jubilee Railway Bridges our eleventh bridge is Waterloo Bridge, originally built in 1817 but replaced with the present box-girder bridge in 1945. It connects Westminster on the north bank of the Thames with Lambeth on the south bank on the A301 road.

The first bridge was named Waterloo after the British and Allied victory over Napoleon in 1815. However problems were found with the bridge's construction in 1884, and by the early 1920s it was closed.

Somerset House stands at the north end of the bridge, and the Royal Festival Hall, London Waterloo Station and the Royal National Theatre are at the south end.

The clue derives from the lyrics of the song "Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks, which was ranked at number 14 on the 2021 edition of "Rolling Stone"'s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list:
"Millions of people swarming like flies 'round
Waterloo underground
But Terry and Julie cross over the river
Where they feel safe and sound".

Blackfriars Bridge is our twelfth bridge, originally built in 1769 but replaced with the present arch bridge in 1886. It was originally named the William Pitt Bridge after the Prime Minister, but soon became known as Blackfriars Bridge after Blackfriars Monastery, a Dominican priory which once stood nearby. It connects Blackfriars on the north bank of the Thames with Southwark on the south bank on the A201 road. The River Fleet discharges in to the Thames at the north end of the bridge.

The bridge is perhaps best known as the place where the Italian banker Roberto Calvi was found dead in 1982 with five bricks and $14,000 in his pockets; the death was initially treated as a suicide. However Calvi was on the run from Italy accused of embezzlement, and eventually forensic experts concluded that he had been murdered by the Mafia.

Passing Blackfriars Railway Bridge and the Millennium Footbridge we come to our thirteenth bridge, Southwark. This was originally built in 1819, consisting of three large cast-iron spans supported by granite piers. One of the spans was the longest ever made at 240 feet, and the bridge became known colloquially as "The Iron Bridge". A wider replacement bridge was opened in 1921, connecting the City on the north bank with Southwark on the south bank on the A300 road.

In terms of traffic it's the least busy in London. Local landmarks are the Tate Modern gallery and the modern Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries Southwark was popular as an entertainment district, and both Shakespeare and Marlowe worked at two of the local theatres, the Rose and the Globe - hence the clue.

After Cannon Street Railway Bridge we come to the fourteenth bridge. London Bridge, connecting the City of London on the north bank with Southwark on the south bank on the A3 road, is by far the oldest bridge in London with over 2,000 years of history. There have been many different structures, starting with the Roman bridge built in around 50CE, and there are records of new or rebuilt bridges being constructed by Alfred the Great, Æthelred the Unready, Cnut, William I, William II and Stephen. The first stone bridge was commissioned by Henry II in 1176 and finished in 1209; it had 19 piers supporting up to 140 houses. Famously, the drawbridge tower was used to display the heads of executed traitors and criminals.

The old bridge was repeatedly repaired and rebuilt until the late 18th century, and eventually it was decided to build a new bridge 30 metres upstream. The old bridge was demolished when the new one opened in 1831. By the early 20th century, however, the new bridge was being severely damaged by subsidence and so in 1986 the decision was taken to sell it to an American millionaire and to build another bridge, which was completed in 1973.

The nursery rhyme "London Bridge Is Falling Down" has been linked to a number of the bridge's historic collapses going back to the 11th century.

And the fifteenth bridge is iconic: Tower Bridge, a combined bascule and suspension bridge opened in 1894. It crosses the river from Tower Hamlets on the north bank to Southwark on the south bank on the A100 road. It was built with opening spans to allow ships coming upstream (a lot of which would have been masted) into the Pool of London and its docks.

The spans are lifted on average about three times a day, with ships having priority - although they have to give 24 hours' notice.

In 1952, due to a breakdown in communication the spans were opened while a double-decker bus was crossing. The bus was near the edge of the south span when it started to lift, but the driver decided to accelerate; the bus cleared a 3-foot gap to drop 6 feet onto the north span. Nobody was injured and the driver was awarded £10 for bravery.

And finally, my brother was a Freeman of the City of London and said that because of an ancient ruling he thus had the right to drive a flock of sheep over the Bridge. He never took advantage of this, but another person in 1999 did and drove two sheep across.