Photo-Hunter: Support

Hungerford Bridge

For Photo-Hunt’s “support” theme this week, I’m posting photos of a few London bridges crossing the River Thames. The weight of a bridge, and of any traffic on it, is carried directly to the ground by the “support”, often called piers. The piers take the full weight of the load, and support-piling depth is one of several factors that determine a bridge’s load-carrying capacity. These photos were taken in 2005 while I was on a cruise along River Thames from Tower Bridge to Greenwich Pier.

The top photo is Hungerford Bridge, a steel truss railway bridge, sometimes known as the Charing Cross Bridge. This bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in 1845.

Westminster Bridge

Westminster Bridge was built in I862 and was designed by Thomas Page. The Gothic detailing on this seven-arch wrought iron bridge was designed by Charles Barry, the architect of the Palace of Westminster. The first bridge was built between 1739 and 1750, designed by a Swiss architect, Charles Labelye. This is the oldest bridge in the central area of the River Thames.

Southwark Bridge

Southwark Bridge is an arch bridge designed by Ernest Goerge and Basil Mott, and was opened in 1921. This bridge was notable for having the longest cast iron span ever made at 73 meters.

Lambeth Bridge

Lambeth Bridge was opened in 1932 and has a five-span steel arch, designed by engineer Sir Geroge Humphreys and architect Sir Reginald Blomfield. The most conspicuous color in the bridge’s current paint scheme is red. The bridge was used for the movie "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" for the scene where the Knight Bus must pass between two Routemasters.

Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge was built during World War II by (mostly) female labor---a quirk of the War as the men were away fighting for King and Country. The name of the bridge is in memory of the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The original bridge on the site was opened in 1817 but serious problems were found in its construction. The first bridge was demolished in the 1920’s and replaced it with a new structure designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott.

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