Battersea Bridge is a five-span arch bridge with cast-iron girders and granite piers crossing the River Thames in London, England. It is situated on a sharp bend in the river, and links Battersea south of the river with Chelsea to the north. The bridge replaced a ferry service that had operated near the site since at least the middle of the 16th century.
The first Battersea Bridge was a toll bridge commissioned by John, Earl Spencer, who had recently acquired the rights to operate the ferry. Although a stone bridge was planned, difficulties in raising investment meant that a cheaper wooden bridge was built instead. Designed by Henry Holland, it was initially opened to pedestrians in November 1771, and to vehicle traffic in 1772. The bridge was poorly designed and dangerous both to its users and to passing shipping, and boats often collided with it. To reduce the dangers to shipping, two piers were removed and the sections of the bridge above them were strengthened with iron girders.
Although dangerous and unpopular, the bridge was the last surviving wooden bridge on the Thames in London, and was the subject of paintings by many significant artists such as J. M. W. Turner, John Sell Cotman and James McNeill Whistler, including Whistler's Nocturne: Blue and Gold – Old Battersea Bridge, and his controversial Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket.
In 1879 the bridge was taken into public ownership, and in 1885 demolished and replaced with the existing bridge, designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette and built by John Mowlem & Co. The narrowest surviving road bridge over the Thames in London, it is one of London's least busy Thames bridges. The location on a bend in the river makes the bridge a hazard to shipping, and it has been closed many times due to collisions.
The contract to build the new bridge was awarded to John Mowlem & Co, and in June 1887 the Duke of Clarence laid a ceremonial foundation stone in the southern abutment and construction work began. Bazalgette's design incorporated five arches with cast iron griders, on granite piers which in turn rest on concrete foundations. The roadway itself is 24 feet (7.3 m) wide, and 8-foot (2.4 m) wide footpaths are cantilevered on either side of the bridge, giving the bridge a total width of 40 feet (12 m). The balustrade is a distinctive Moorish-style lattice. Construction work was overseen by Bazalgette's son Edward, and cost a total of £143,000 (about £14,056,000 in 2015).
On 21 July 1890, the bridge was officially opened by future Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, then chairman of the newly formed London County Council. Unlike its predecessor, the new bridge was officially named Battersea Bridge. Although the road was narrow, trams operated on it from the outset. Initially these were horse-drawn, but from 22 June 1911 the electric trams of London County Council Tramways were introduced.
At only 40 feet (12 m) wide, Bazalgette's bridge is now London's narrowest surviving road bridge over the Thames, and in 2004 was the fifth least-used Thames bridge in London. In 1983 the bridge was designated a Grade II listed structure, protecting its character from further alterations, and in 1992 English Heritage oversaw a project to renovate the bridge, which for some years had been painted blue and red.
Paint samples were analysed and photographs from the time of opening consulted, and the bridge was restored to its original appearance. The main body of the bridge was painted in dark green, with the spandrels decorated in gilding. The lamp standards, which had been removed during the Second World War, were replaced with replicas copied from the surviving posts at the ends of the bridge. A statue of James McNeill Whistler by Nicholas Dimbleby was erected at the north end of the bridge in 2005.