The life, death and migration of #London Bridge
London Bridge is not a single building. It is a series of crossings over the River Thames, each one born of necessity and replaced by the ambition of an engineer. The most famous iteration in pop culture is the medieval stone bridge immortalized in children’s nursery rhymes. Peter of Colechurch began construction in 1176 and completed it in 1209. This building replaced an earlier wooden one that had served the town for centuries.
It was a nightmare to build. Workers had to drive cofferdams into the river bed to keep the water out. The obstacles they hit meant the arch spans were uneven. Some of them were about 4.6 meters long. Others stretched to 10.4 meters. This lack of uniformity creates structural weaknesses. Repairs were constant. But this bridge has existed for more than 600 years.
Why did it last so long? Durability helps. But so did commerce. The roads are full of cluttered houses and shops. Many of these buildings jut out above the water. A bridge is both a street and an intersection. It was cramped. It’s very crowded. It is very practical.
In the 1820s, the medieval bridge was becoming a burden. It has been demolished. The New London Bridge was built in its place. The designer is John Rennie Sr. and his son John Rennie Jr. The younger Rennie lived from 1794 to 1874. His father was born in 1761 and died before he could see the project fully realized. The new stone bridge is a triumph of early 19th-century engineering. It offered wider spans and the road smoother.
However, history tends to repeat itself. By the 1960s, the Rennie bridge was once again considered obsolete. It was replaced by a modern concrete structure. The old stone facade was carefully removed. The stones were numbered and transported across the Atlantic Ocean.
Eventually they arrived in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. There they were restored as tourist attractions. The real London Bridge still stands in London. The fake is located in the Arizona desert. Neither is the original medieval structure. But both tell stories of how cities grow, expand, and ultimately progress.
Bridges have survived for over 600 years, not because they are perfect, but because they are convenient.
What happens to the bones of cities that are no longer needed? They travel. They become souvenirs. They became landmarks in places they never intended to be. The river continues to flow. The crossings change. The name remains unchanged.
