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The first bridge that stood here was made of wood during the Roman period. But
King Olaf of Norway burnt this down. The bridge was then rebuilt, only to be
destroyed by a gale in 1091. But, soon after it was rebuilt. Again it was
destroyed by fire and then rebuilt using elm in 1136.
Peter, Chaplin of St Mary Colechurch, didn’t build the first stone bridge here
until 1176. After this houses seven storeys high were built on top of the bridge
with a chapel in the middle dedicated to St. Thomas Becket. This bridge had 19
small arches and a drawbridge at the Southwark side. During a fire in 1212 3,000
people got trapped on the bridge and died. Later that century during a frost, a
current swept five arches away.
At the beginning of the 14th century William Wallace became the first person to
have his head put on a spike and placed above the gatehouse. This continued for
over two hundred years. The houses were removed in the 18th century
In 1823 Rennie built a bridge and this now stands in Arizona on Lake Havasu.
The present bridge built by Mott,
Hay and Anderson with its three arches is quite plain and people tend to get
this mixed up with Tower Bridge. From here you can get an excellent view of
Tower Bridge and can take some
good pictures.
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