[1-2 plaques]
LONDON BRIDGE
Emblem of the city of London

One site, many bridges
The current bridge is one of many since the Romans built the first one close to this site 2,000 years ago; it is thought to have had a drawbridge in the centre to allow ships to sail upriver just like Tower Bridge does today. Through the centuries various wooden bridges were built, which collapsed or were destroyed, until a stone bridge was built in 1176.
This bridge lasted 600 years. Houses were built on the bridge to bring in tax revenue. In the lower right of the illustration, over the southern gatehouse, you can see the heads of executed criminals on spikes.

Discover the story of the world’s greatest city and its people at the Museum of London 150 London Wall, London BCZY SHN www.museumoflondon.org.uk

[Illustration of the stone bridge, around the 12 century]

[3-4 plaques]
LONDON BRIDGE
Emblem of the city of London

City bridges
The bridges across the River Thames are a vital part of London’s transport infrastructure. The City of London Corporation owns and maintains four road bridges, and since the day of its re-opening in February 2002, the Corporation has taken over full responsibility for the Millennium Bridge. The bridges need expert maintenance to ensure they do their job as gateways to the City, and to keep the river safe for transport. They jointly bear the weight of 130,000 vehicles every day, nearly 50 million a year.

Thames Path | NATIONAL TRAIL

[map of London’s bridges]

[5-6 plaques]
LONDON BRIDGE
Emblem of the city of London

Aquatic biodiveristy
The River Thames is full of life: at least 115 species of fish and 350 species of invertebrates (like estuarine shrimp or mud snails). There are dozen of types of water birds, and dozens more use the river as their migratory route and feeding ground. If the river is at low tide, you can see patches of foreshore. This foreshore is of great ecological importance, as it provides a place for algae to grow, a base for seaweed and invertebrates, and feeding and spawning areas for fish.

[Illustrations of marine creatures found in the bridge area: from left to right and from top to bottom]
Signal Crayfish - Pacifastacus leniusculus
Brown Trout - Salmo trutta tarto
Flounder - Platichthys flesus
Chinese Mitten Crab - Eriocheir sinensis
Pike - Eox lucius
European eel - Anguilla anguilla
Seahorse - Hippocampus Hippocampus

[7-8 plaques]
LONDON BRIDGE
Emblem of the city of London

A bridge to the past
No one knows the real story behind the nursery rhyme about the bridge.
One theory is that it commemorates an attack by the Saxons and Vikings which destroyed it. Perhaps a stronger theory is that the rhyme catalogues the slow deterioration of the medieval bridge of 1176, which lasted six hundred years, a vast period of time in which it partially collapsed twice and was severely damaged in the Great Fire of 1666.

Thames Path | NATIONAL TRAIL

[the nursery rhyme]
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady.

Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.

Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.

The display on the observation deck overlooking London Bridge describes the history of the bridge, animals found in the river, and more.

The bridge as seen from the observation deck was photographed on the same day Click for a larger image

In the following pictures, the plates on display are shown enlarged
Plates 1-2 Click for a larger image
In the enlargement of the second panel, the heads of the executed criminals can be seen and put on display Click for a larger image

Plates 3-4 Click for a larger image

Plates 5-6 Click for a larger image

Plates 7-8 Click for a larger image