A date plaque, close to the centre of
the bridge on the west side of the road, advises:
Southwark Bridge
Re-built by the Bridge House Estates
Committee
of the Corporation of London
1918 - 1921
Opened for traffic by their
Majesties
King George V. and Queen Mary
6th June 1921
Sir Ernest Lamb
C.M.G., J.P., Chairman
Basil Mott C.B., Engineer
Sir Ernest George R.A.,
Architect
The bridge is Grade II listed and the entry at the English
Heritage website tells us:
"Road and foot bridge, 1913-21, designed by Basil Mott
of Mott, Hay and Anderson; piers and turrets to the designs of Sir Ernest George
RA. Five steel arches supported by granite piers which are rusticated. Two spans
of 123 ft and 131 ft on each side; central span of 141. ft. The spacing was
determined so that the piers would align with those of Blackfriars Road Bridge
(q.v.) and Rennie's London Bridge. The piers, whose classical design shows a
typical Edwardian exuberance, were completed by the outbreak of war; work
continued, with increasing delays due to material shortages, until 1917. After
the war mounting traffic congestion in the City made its completion a high
priority , and Southwark Bridge was one of the first major public works projects
to be resumed after the Annistice. It was opened by King George V in 1921. The
total cost was borne by the Bridge House Estates Committee."
The Open
Buildings website also tells us:
"Southwark Bridge is an arch bridge for traffic linking
Southwark and the City across the River Thames, in London, England. It was
designed by Ernest George and Basil Mott. It was built by Sir William Arrol
& Co. and opened in 1921. The bridge is owned and maintained by City Bridge
Trust, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London
Corporation.
History
A previous bridge on the site, designed by
John Rennie, opened in 1819, and was originally known as Queen Street Bridge, as
shown on the 1818 John Snow Map of London. The bridge consisted of three large
cast-iron spans supported by granite piers. It was known as the "Iron Bridge" in
comparison to London Bridge, the "Stone Bridge". The bridge was notable for
having the longest cast iron span, 240 feet (73 m), ever made. Halfway along the
bridge on the Western side is a plaque which is inscribed: Re-built by the
Bridge House Estates Committee of the Corporation of London 1913-1921 Opened for
traffic by their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary 6th June 1921 Sir Ernest
Lamb CMG, JP Chairman Basil Mott, CB Engineer Sir Ernest George RA Architect The
bridge provides access to Upper Thames Street on the north bank and, due to the
ring of steel, there is no further access to the City and the north. This has
led to a reputation of it being the least used bridge in central London and it
is sometimes known as the "car park bridge" as coach drivers use it to park
their vehicles. The current bridge was given Grade II listed structure status in
1995.
Nearby
The south end is near the Tate Modern, the
Clink Prison Museum, the Globe Theatre, and the Financial Times building. The
north end is near Cannon Street station. Below the bridge on the south side are
some old steps, which were once used by Thames watermen as a place to moor their
boats and wait for customers. Southwark Bridge was built into the steps. Below
the bridge on the south side is a pedestrian tunnel, containing a frieze
depicting the Thames frost fairs. The next bridge upstream is the London
Millennium Bridge and the next downstream is Cannon Street Railway
Bridge.
Popular culture
Southwark Bridge is frequently
referenced by Charles Dickens, for example in Little Dorrit and Our Mutual
Friend , and there was a recreation of the old bridge made for the 2008 Little
Dorrit (TV serial) . The cream painted houses on the south side of the bridge,
just after the FT building, were used for the exterior shots of the shared house
in This Life."