The History of the London Bridge

There has been a bridge across the Thames for over 2,000 years. The first bridge was built by the Romans in 43.A.D. They built a temporary pontoon bridge which was planks laid across a row of anchored boats, or they may have used ferry boats. Soon the first London Bridge was built.

In 1821, a committee was appointed by Parliament to consider the condition of the bridge. The arches had been badly damaged by the Great Freeze, so it was decided to build a new bridge. Plans were submitted and rejected. This bridge would have to be quite different from the previous London Bridge as the old prints were for horse drawn carriages. In 1824, John Rennie's plans were accepted. The bridge was built 100 feet west of the old Bridge. On June 15, 1825, the first stone was laid by the Lord Mayor of London, John Garratt, in the presence of the Duke of York. six years later William IV and Queen Adelaid opened the New London Bridge and the old one was demolished. The Thames narrows 900 feet at this point.

This London Bridge was built out of granite which was quarried on Dartmoor. It was a structure of 5 arches, overall dimensions where 928 feet long and 49 feet wide.

In 1962, it was discovered that the London Bridge was falling down, sinking into the Thames because it was not adequate for the increased in traffic. Robert McCulloch learned that the British Government was putting the bridge up for sale. He submitted the winning bid for $2,460,000. Plans were made to move and reconstruct the bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Each piece was marked with four numbers. The first indicated which span, the second noted which row of stones, and the last tow numbers indicted which position in that row. It was discovered, while dismantling the bridge, that there were code numbers on each stone when it was originally built: Rennie must have used the same system when the sections left the quarries.

Reconstructing the Bridge in Lake Havasu City was done in the same manner as the Egyptians built pyramids. Sand mounds beneath each arch were carefully formed to the profile of the original Bridge arches, serving the same function as molds. When the work was completed, the sand was removed. A one-mile channel was dredged and water was diverted from the lake, under the bridge, then back into the lake. Thus the peninsula became an island.

The bridge was shipped by boat 10,000 miles to Long Beach, California. From there it was trucked to Lake Havasu city, where it was stored in a seven-acre fenced storage compound. On September 23, 1968, the Lord Mayor of London, Sir gilbert Inglefield, laid the corner stone. Robert Beresford, a civil engineer from Nottingham, England was in charge of the reconstruction of the London Bridge in Lake Havasu.

As a guideline, he had a copy of the original plans drawn by John Rennie. During the reconstruction, Mr. Beresford drew sketches of the bridge in different phases of construction. There are a limited number of these prints. When Mr. Beresford returned to England, he gave exclusive right to D & P Antiques in Lake Havasu City to sell these prints.

The Bridge was completed and dedicated on October 10, 1971.