Here are some facts about Vauxhall Bridge.
- The Vauxhall Bridge is a an arch bridge that crosses the River Thames in London, linking Vauxhall and Pimlico.
- It is made from steel and granite and opened in 1906.
- Vauxhall Bridge replaced Regent Bridge (later known as Vauxhall Bridge), which was used from 1816 to 1898.
- When the new Vauxhall Bridge opened, it was the first London bridge to carry trams.
- Today, the bridge is an important transport link, carrying the A202 road across the Thames.
- The bridges piers are decorated with 8 vast bronze statues, designed by Alfred Drury and Frederick Pomeroy. The statue titles include, Agriculture, Architecture, Education, Fine Arts and Engineering. They are not visible from the bridge itself.
- The Architecture statue holds a model of St Paul’s Cathedral in her hand.
- The government was concerned that the bridge would be bombed during World War 2, but it survived the Blitz.
- In 1993, in the River Thames next to Vauxhall Bridge, archaeologists discovered the remains of on of the earliest bridge-like structures in London. It has been dated between 1550 BC – 300 BC and historians think it had been dismantled before Julius Caesar‘s Roman expedition to Britain.
- The bridge was designed by Sir Alexander Binnie and Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice.
- It has total length of 247 metres, and it is 24 metres wide.
