| Summary : The first Roman bridge was partly burnt down by King Ethelred in 1014 to divide the Danish forces. The remnants were swept away by a gale in 1091. Rebuilt, it was again burnt down in 1136, and then reconstucted in elm. The first stone bridge was built in 1176 by Peter de Colechurch. It had 19 arches and a gatehouse with drawbridge at the Southwark end. From 1305, the heads of traitors were displayed on the gatehouse portico.The earliest mention of houses on the bridge dates to 1201. Near the Southern end was Nonsuch House, built entirely of wood. In the centre of the bridge was the Collegiate Chapel of St Thomas a Becket, founded in 1205. Four chantries were also founded, and the College continued until dissolved in 1548, when the chapel was turned into a well. In 1582, Pieter Morice, a German, built mills on 2 arches of the bridge to pump drinking water. The houses were removed 1758-62, the 2 central arches being replaced by a single span. A new bridge of 5 stone arches was constructed in 1823-31 to the design of Sir John Rennie, upstream of the old bridge. |