Londra Köprüsü Asla Düşmedi, Ama Yeniden Yapılmaya Devam Ediyor

Aslında, "Londra Köprüsü resimleri" için bir Google araması yapın ve bunun yerine, iki kuleli ünlü Viktorya dönemi Gotik yapısı olan Tower Bridge'in resimleri muhtemelen göreceksiniz. Ancak bugünkü Londra Köprüsü çok daha basit bir profil sunuyor ve mevcut yapı 20. yüzyılın sonlarına ait olsa da, o alanda duran köprülerin hikayesi oldukça uzundur.

Londra Köprüsü Tarihi

Küresel tasarım firması Perkins & Will'in müdürü ve aynı zamanda şehirlerin tarihi konusunda uzman olan David Green, "Tarih, çoğu insanın Londra Köprüsü'nün olduğunu düşündüğü Tower Bridge'den çok daha ilginç," diyor . gelişimlerinde ulaşım ve köprüler.

Bugün, London Bridge, Tower Bridge ve diğer üçü 900 yıl önce kurulan Bridge House Estates tarafından yönetiliyor. Bu bir hayır kurumu ve Bridge Maintenance Budget'ın gerektirmediği paralar, City Bridge Trust fonlama kolu aracılığıyla muhtaç Londralılara yardım etmeye gidiyor . City Bridge Trust, bu şekilde yılda 30 milyon sterlin bağışlıyor.

Göre City of London , Thames karşısında ilk köprü 1176 ve 1209 Bu 19. yüzyılın başlarında değiştirildi ve mevcut üçüncü kez arasında inşa edilmiş köprü inşa edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte, 12. yüzyıldan kalma taş köprüden önce bile, bölgede bir dizi ahşap köprü inşa edilmişti ve Londra Köprüsü'nün hikayesi, bir Roma istilası ve Londinium yerleşiminin kurulmasıyla başlıyor.

Green'e göre, bugün Londra Köprüsü olarak adlandırılan şey, Romalılar tarafından bölgeye yerleşirken inşa edilen askeri bir duba köprüsü olarak başladı. Geçtiğimiz 2000 yıl boyunca, köprünün konumu ekonomik kalkınma için bir bağlantı noktası olarak kaldı, ancak fiziksel yapısı birkaç kez değişti.

Sahadaki ahşap köprüler birden fazla yangın ve fırtına nedeniyle hasar gördü. Peter of Colechurch (diğer adıyla Peter the Bridge Master , St. Mary Colechurch papazı) tarafından tasarlanan son bir ahşap köprü MS 1163'te tamamlandı. Henry II, yine Peter tarafından tasarlanan ilk taş yapıyı yaklaşık 800 yıl önce sahada görevlendirdi. Ahşap köprünün biraz batısında, Paris'teki Pont Neuf gibi basit taş kemerli bir köprüdü ve bir asma köprü içeriyordu.

This "Old London Bridge" was used as both a river crossing and a development site like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. For half a century the stone bridge was home to many buildings, including residences, shops and a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury. In fact, there were about 200 buildings on the bridge, according to Green.

With so much development, the bridge became constricted — not to mention the bathroom facilities dropped straight into the Thames — so the city started removing the buildings in the 18th century.

London Bridge No. 2

As the London Bridge continued to be a major transportation route even without its buildings, structural problems appeared. The arches deteriorated, and the bridge, which had experienced a variety of damage, was also slowly sinking. By the 1820s, it was deemed structurally problematic, Green explains.

Thus, a new bridge was proposed and completed in 1831. A masonry stone structure that was sturdier and highly engineered, it had been proposed by Scottish civil engineer John Rennie and constructed by his sons. Situated upstream from the 12th-century bridge, which was quickly demolished, it lasted just 140 years.

By the 1920s, the city knew that renovation or reconstruction would be necessary, but the second bridge remained until the late 1960s when it was finally replaced.

Interestingly, the 19th-century London Bridge was sold to Robert P. McCulloch, Sr., a chain saw magnate who founded Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He purchased the bridge for $2.4 million in 1968 plus shipping costs of around $240,000 and had it shipped to its new home, where it was reconstructed above a man-made channel. Today, it's the second most-visited tourist attraction in the state.

The London Bridge Today

The London Bridge we know today was designed by city engineer Harold Knox King with architects Mott, Hay & Anderson and William Holford & Partners. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1973. The bridge features three spans founded on concrete piers and is constructed of concrete and polished granite, which is not as exciting as it sounds.

"It's a fairly unremarkable piece of engineering, but it's turned into this amazing public space," Green says. The structure is similar to most overpasses in U.S. highway construction, and it is not generally somewhere tourists visits for its beauty, especially considering the historical architecture throughout London. However, the London Bridge offers an excellent location from which to take photos of the nearby Tower Bridge.

Until Westminster Bridge opened in 1750, the London Bridge offered the city's only option for crossing the Thames. Today, it connects two vibrant neighborhoods. On the north side is the City of London, which is the financial sector, like Wall Street, says Catherine Mahoney, head of communications for charity and philanthropy at City Bridge Trust. To the south is Southwark, with the Borough Market, The Shard and the London Dungeon.

Even with its current important status in modern London, the bridge remains a site of tradition, such as the 12th century right to use it to drive sheep into the City of London for sale. In 2013, 20 Suffolk and Texel sheep crossed the bridge in a reenactment of the historical charter as part of a fundraising effort. "It's a really cool, interesting bridge with a rich, interesting history," says Green.

Is the London Bridge Falling Down?

So technically, the London Bridge has fallen down — to some degree — many times during its 2,000-year history.

"Bridge piers are liable to damage from shipping and from the force of the river rushing through," Roger Hobbs, emeritus professor, department of civil and environmental engineering, Imperial College London, explains in an email. "This finished the life of the medieval bridge and probably earlier bridges. They also need maintenance before problems become serious/dangerous."

So, where did the nursery rhyme we all grew up singing originate? It was first published in the mid-19th century, but it had probably been known long before that. There are a few prevailing theories about the song, including an 11th-century Viking attack, the 1666 Great London Fire, the unsubstantiated immurement of a person in the structure's foundation and the ongoing issue of the bridge needing repair.

That leaves the question of the "fair lady" mentioned in the ditty, but no consensus has been reached there either. One possibility is Eleanor of Provence, who was Henry III's consort and controlled London Bridge revenue during the late 13th century. Another guess is the fair lady is Matilda of Scotland, a consort of Henry I, who had commissioned bridge projects more than a century earlier. It has also been suggested that it could be a member of the Leigh family, who claim one of their relatives was entombed below the bridge. But it's really anybody's guess.

Now That's Morbid

During the late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, heads of traitors were impaled and displayed at the London Bridge's southern gateway, including that of Scottish hero Sir William Wallace.

Originally Published: Jun 25, 2020