Westminster_Bridge Westminster_Bridge

Westminster Bridge - Definition and Overview

Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, with a glimpse of Westminster Abbey behind the tower of Big Ben. Seen from the London Eye observation wheel
Westminster Bridge and surrounding landmarks at night
Enlarge
Westminster Bridge and surrounding landmarks at night


Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster and Lambeth. The current bridge, opened in 1862, is the second on the site and replaced an earlier bridge that had opened in 1750 and had the tendency to sway alarmingly. Westminster Bridge is a seven-arch wrought iron bridge with has gothic detailing by Charles Barry (the architect of the Palace of Westminster).

It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with County Hall and the London Eye on the east and was the finishing point during the early years of the London Marathon.

The next bridge downstream is Hungerford footbridge and upstream is Lambeth Bridge.

External links

  • Street map (http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=51.4994&lon=-0.1213&scale=10000) of Westminster Bridge, from Multimap.
  • Aerial photo (http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.cgi?x=530500.848756534&y=179500.925324671&scale=10000) of Westminster Bridge, from Multimap; taken during the erection of the London Eye, which can see seen resting horizontally above the Thames..



Bridges of Central London, west to east
Chelsea Bridge | Grosvenor Bridge | Vauxhall Bridge | Lambeth Bridge | Westminster Bridge
Hungerford Bridge | Waterloo Bridge | Blackfriars Bridge | Blackfriars Railway Bridge
Millennium Bridge | Southwark Bridge | Cannon Street Railway Bridge | London Bridge | Tower Bridge
See also: Crossings of the River Thames | Bridges of the United Kingdom


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