History
The bridge has existed since at least 1375. It is recorded in 1617 as being in need or repair. The River Ingrebourne formed the boundary between the ancient parishes of Hornchurch and Upminster. However, upkeep of all bridges over the river were the responsibility of the Upminster parish authorities, as Hornchurch claimed exception due to the charter of the Royal Liberty of Havering. The wooden bridge was destroyed and replaced with another after the winter of 1709/10. Replacement wooden carriage bridges were constructed in 1759 and 1827 and an adjacent ford was in use up until the 19th century. A stone and brick structure was completed in 1892. The significance of the boundary was reduced in 1934 when both sides became part of Hornchurch Urban District. Upminster Bridge tube station opened in 1934.
Until its last replacement with railings in the 1980s by Havering London Borough Council, the bridge used to have two low height cast-iron plated bridge sides that were cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, makers of Big Ben and other bells in the Houses of Parliament. A nearby pub used to bear the name The Bridge House but is now called The Windmill, after a brief period being the Hungry Horse.
Read more about this topic: Upminster Bridge
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Well, for us, in history where goodness is a rare pearl, he who was good almost takes precedence over he who was great.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
“The reverence for the Scriptures is an element of civilization, for thus has the history of the world been preserved, and is preserved.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)