Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges

Most of us know the bridge as Hungerford Bridge, but its official name is the Golden Jubilee Bridge. This iconic structure sees approximately 8.5 million people cross it annually and is one of only three bridges on the Thames that accommodates both pedestrian and rail traffic.

The original footbridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1845, was replaced by a railway bridge in 1864, a project overseen by Sir John Hawkshaw. The current elegant footbridges, completed in 2002, were designed by architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands in collaboration with engineers from WSP Group. These bridges feature a beautiful, light structure that gracefully connects the South Bank with Charing Cross.

The first Hungerford Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, opened in 1845 as a suspension footbridge. It was named after the nearby Hungerford Market, as it connected the South Bank (specifically a northern point of Lambeth, near what would become London Waterloo station) to the market on the north side of the Thames. This market area, later becoming Charing Cross Station, was situated about 200 yards east of Trafalgar Square, partly within the parish of Saint Martin in the Fields, Westminster, whose spire is visible from the bridge.

In 1859, the railway company acquired the bridge extending the South Eastern Railway into the newly opened Charing Cross railway station. The railway company replaced the suspension bridge with a new structure designed by Sir John Hawkshaw. This new bridge opened in 1864 and featured nine spans made of wrought iron lattice girders. The chains from Brunel's original bridge were repurposed for the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol. Brunel's original brick pile buttresses remain in use, although the one on the Charing Cross side is now much closer to the river bank due to the construction of the Victoria Embankment in 1870. The South Bank buttress still has entrances and steps from Brunel's original steamer pier.

To replace the removed footbridge, walkways were added on either side of the new railway bridge. The western walkway was later removed when the railway was widened. A temporary walkway was added in 1951 using an Army Bailey bridge for the Festival of Britain. In 1980, another temporary walkway was erected on the western side while the eastern railway bridge and walkway were refurbished. Hungerford Bridge is one of three in London that accommodates pedestrians and rolling stock; the others are Fulham Railway Bridge and Barnes Bridge.

Over time, the footbridge gained a reputation for being narrow, dilapidated, and dangerous; it was even the site of a murder in 1999. In the mid-1990s, a decision was made to replace the footbridge with new structures flanking the existing railway bridge. A competition was held in 1996 to design these new footbridges.

Additional justification for the new structures was that the brittle wrought iron support pillars of Hawkshaw's railway bridge were vulnerable to impact from riverboats. Following the Marchioness disaster, it was deemed necessary to clad these pillars in concrete at water level, but Railtrack, the bridge's owner, could not afford the work. The construction of the Golden Jubilee Bridges provided this protection at no cost to Railtrack.