Waterloo Bridge

WATERLOO BRIDGE

The view from Waterloo Bridge is widely acknowledged as being the finest river view in the whole of Europe. The crossing is on a sweeping bend of the Thames and from the middle of the bridge, panoramic vistas across the four compass points together with many of central London’s most familiar landmarks rise up above the glistening water. Waterloo Bridge is one of the best spots to see the division between the two cities that made up old London. To the west of the bridge is the City Of Westminster with the Houses Of Parliament and to the east is the City Of London with St Paul's Cathedral and the tall buildings of the square mile. 

Splendid sunrises from behind the docklands and glowing sunsets silhouetting the Palace Of Westminster draw tourists, photographers and romantics alike up onto the bridge and it is also a popular viewing platform for the occasional  fireworks displays held on the river. There is space to accommodate thousands, as the pavements are broad and it is the longest bridge over the river Thames.

The current bridge is not the first crossing at this point, the earliest opened in 1817 as a toll bridge and during the planning stages it was intended to be known as 'Strand Bridge'. However, it was fated to open not long after the glorious victory over the Napoleonic forces at The Battle Of Waterloo. The 1817 bridge is familiar to many through artworks, as it was painted by Constable, several French Impressionists and many other artists of the day.

When London Bridge was rebuilt, the speed of the water flow of Thames increased, because the many wide arches of the old London Bridge had inadvertently acted as a dam. The faster river flow left the 1817 Waterloo Bridge unstable on its foundations. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was commissioned to build a new bridge, which opened in 1944. Its construction coincided with the Second World War and the bridge was largely built by women, who willingly made themselves available as workforce. It is thought that this is the only bridge of it size so built in the world. It duly became known to many as ‘The Ladies Bridge’ through the latter half of the twentieth century.

The bridge was the platform for a well documented occurrence in cold war days when Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident was murdered. The assassin jabbed a ricin tipped umbrella into his calf, whilst he waited at a bus stop on Waterloo Bridge. The bridge also provided the inspiration for the hugely successful Ray Davies song, 'Waterloo Sunset', about a romantic couple who walked up onto the bridge from the nearby Waterloo Underground Station.

To give an idea of the size of the Thames at this point, Waterloo Bridge covers an area of twenty acres, which is bigger than many rural English villages. The span of its arches fits proportionally against Somerset House, The Savoy Hotel, National Theatre and South Bank Centre which all surround the bridge.

A good way to enjoy the bridge is from the top deck of a bus and as you pass over, observing many of London’s greatest landmarks, think for a moment that you might well have been crossing Braine-l’Alleud Bridge. Braine-l'Alleud was the location where much of the fighting actually took place at the Battle of Waterloo. The name is such a mouthful to pronounce for a native English speaker, that the nearby Waterloo was chosen to mark the battle. It names the bridge, the station, many public houses and even a town, Waterlooville, in southern England.

Waterloo Bridge

London SE1

Northside: Temple, Embankment, Covent Garden Underground Stations

Southside: Waterloo Underground Station


Where to view video clips of London

London in motion has some of the best London Stock Footage and London Library Footage with moving clips of many of the above mentioned places to see, are available to browse through by simply visiting the ‘Waterloo Bridge’ category of this website.  New additions of London video clips are being frequently uploaded and further categories will be appearing over the coming months.


Copyright: London In Motion 2009
Email: tom@londoninmotion.com