Blackfriars Railway Bridge - Definition and Overview

Blackfriars Railway Bridge, London, with remains of old bridge in foreground

Blackfriars Railway Bridge is a railway bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and the Millennium Bridge.

There have been two structures with the name, although not at the same time. The first bridge was opened in 1864 and was designed by Joseph Cubitt for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. Massive abutments at each end carried the railway's insignia, preserved and splendidly restored on the south side. It was too weak to support modern trains and all that remains are a series of columns crossing the Thames.

The second bridge, built slightly further downstream (to the east), was originally called St Paul's Railway Bridge and opened in 1886. It was designed by John Wolfe-Barry and Henri Marc Brunel and is made of wrought iron. When St Paul's railway station changed its name to Blackfriars in 1937 the bridge changed its name as well.

External links

• Street map (http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=51.5081&lon=-0.1065&scale=10000) of Blackfriars Railway Bridge (the right bridge of the centre pair), from Multimap.

• Aerial photo (http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?x=531500.030674305&y=180500.841554808&scale=10000) of Blackfriars Railway Bridge (the right bridge of the centre pair), from Multimap.