Waterloo Bridge

Waterloo Bridge spans the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars and Hungerford Bridges. Named after the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, it offers great views of landmarks like Westminster and the London Eye to the west and the City of London and Canary Wharf to the east.

John Rennie designed the first bridge on this site in 1809–10, initially called the Strand Bridge. After the British victory at Waterloo, it was renamed before opening in 1817. The granite bridge featured nine arches and was a toll bridge until it was nationalized in 1878.

In the 1800s, the bridge gained a sad reputation for suicides. It also became famous in art, depicted by Claude Monet and John Constable. Michael Faraday even attempted to measure electromagnetic effects here in 1832.

By the 1920s, structural problems from river scour made it necessary to replace the bridge. London County Council commissioned a new design from Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Construction began in 1937, but the project was interrupted by World War II. Despite this, the bridge was partially opened in 1942 and completed in 1945. Women primarily built it during the war, earning it the nickname “The Ladies’ Bridge.”

Waterloo Bridge is the only Thames bridge damaged during WWII air raids. The design features Portland stone, which naturally cleans itself with rain. Scott’s design also cleverly mimicked the appearance of arches, though it relied on reinforced concrete beams for support.

The bridge became infamous again in 1978 when Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was assassinated on it, killed by a poison pellet, possibly fired from an umbrella by secret agents.

Pieces of the original bridge have been sent worldwide. Granite stones are part of monuments in Australia and New Zealand, and reclaimed timber was used in libraries and private homes. The bridge has been a Grade II* listed structure since 1981.