London Bridge refers to several bridges that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge constructed from concrete and steel. It replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old medieval structure. This was preceded by a succession of timber bridges; the first was built by the Roman founders of London.
The current bridge still stands at the western end of the Pool of London but it is positioned 30 metres (98 ft) upstream from the original alignment. The traditional ends of the medieval bridge were marked by St Magnus-the-Martyr on the northern bank and Southwark Cathedral on the southern shore. Until Putney Bridge opened in 1729, London Bridge was the only road-crossing of the Thames downstream of Kingston-upon-Thames.
The modern bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, an independent charity overseen by the City of London Corporation. The A3, which it carries, is maintained by the Greater London Authority. The crossing also delineates an area along the southern bank of the River Thames, between London Bridge and Tower Bridge, that has been designated as a business improvement district.
Read more about London Bridge: Transport, London Bridge in Literature and Popular Culture, Gallery
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—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
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—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)