1.
Grosvenor Bridge (Chester)
–
The Grosvenor Bridge is a single-span stone arch road bridge crossing the River Dee at Chester, England. Located on the A483 Grosvenor Road, it was designed by Thomas Harrison, the first traffic passed over it in November 1833. At the time of its construction, the bridge was the longest single-span arch bridge in the world and it is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. Views upriver include Chester Castle and Handbridge, the mansions of Curzon Park. Water levels of the tidal Dee vary significantly during the day, at the beginning of the 19th century, Chester only had one river crossing, a narrow medieval bridge at Handbridge, the Old Dee Bridge. Heavily congested, it delayed movement through the town, building a new bridge was prohibitively expensive until Thomas Telford proposed a new road between Shrewsbury and the Irish ferries at Holyhead to facilitate trade between the two islands. The route would have bypassed Chester, greatly reducing the income from the lucrative Irish trade routes. A committee was appointed to consider plans for a new bridge to quicken movement across the city, Chester was at the time a major shipbuilding city, and a very tall bridge was required to allow ships to pass underneath. A design by the architect Thomas Harrison featuring an arch 60 feet high and 200 feet wide was chosen, when constructed, it would be the largest arch in the world, described by chief builder James Trubshaw as a lasting monument to the glory and superiority of Great Britain. The arch is of limestone from Anglesey, the rest the bridge gritstone and its span remains the longest masonry arch in Britain. Original plans called for a bridge between Chester Castle and Wrexham Road, however, Harrison was concerned soft ground there would not support heavy piers. Telford found a drier area downstream and construction was moved there, requiring Wrexham Road to be deadended in one direction, the first stone was laid by the Marquess of Westminster on 1 October 1827. Construction was finally completed in November 1833, and a toll imposed to pay the £50,000 construction costs, the toll proved harmful to trade and was abolished in 1885 when maintenance was transferred to the Chester Corporation. Harrison died two years construction, his pupil William Cole completed the job. Grade I listed buildings in Cheshire West and Chester List of works by Thomas Harrison Scalable satellite view of the Grosvenor Bridge from Google Maps
2.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Vauxhall
–
Vauxhall is a mixed commercial and residential district of southwest London in the London Borough of Lambeth. Vauxhall formed part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created, Vauxhall is 2.1 km south of Charing Cross and 1.5 km southwest of the actual centre of London at Frazier st near Lambeth North tube station. The area only became known by this name when the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens opened as a public attraction. Initially most visitors would have approached by river, but crowds of Londoners of all came to know the area after the construction of Westminster Bridge in the 1740s. There are competing theories as to why the Russian word for a railway station is вокзал. This was further embellished into a story that the Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, visiting London in 1844, was taken to see the trains at Vauxhall and made the same mistake. The locality of the L&SWRs original railway terminus, Nine Elms Station, was shown boldly and simply as Vauxhall in the 1841 Bradshaw timetable, in 1838 a music and entertainment pavilion was constructed at the railway terminus. This pavilion was called the Vokzal in homage to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in London, the name soon came to be applied to the station itself, which was the gateway that most visitors used to enter the gardens. It later came to any substantial railway station building. Archdeacon William Coxe describes the place as a sort of Vauxhall in that year, there is no mention of Vauxhall in the 1086 Domesday Book. The area originally formed part of the extensive Manor of South Lambeth, falkes de Breauté acquired it in 1216 when he married Margaret, widow of Baldwin de Redvers, de Breautés lands reverted to the de Redvers family after his death in 1226. In 1293 South Lambeth Manor and the Manor of la Sale Faukes passed, probably by trickery, in 1317 King Edward II granted the manor of Vauxhall, Surrey, to Sir Roger dAmory for his good services at the Battle of Bannockburn. From various accounts, three local roads – the South Lambeth Road, Clapham Road and Wandsworth Road – were ancient and well-known routes to and from London. The land was flat and parts were marshy and poorly drained by ditches, and only started to be developed with the draining of Lambeth Marsh in the mid-18th century, prior to this it provided market garden produce for the nearby City of London. Vauxhall Bridge and Vauxhall Bridge Road were opened in 1816, by 1860 the village had been subsumed by the town of Lambeth. Many of Vauxhalls streets were destroyed during the construction of the railway to Waterloo station, many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. Vauxhall is an ethnically diverse area, with approximately 40% of residents originating from a non-white ethnic group. There is a significant Portuguese community, some with a connection to Madeira, many Portuguese restaurants and bars are located in South Lambeth Road, there is also a significant Muslim community, with almost 6% of residents declaring themselves as Muslim in the 2001 census
4.
Battersea Power Station
–
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, an inner-city district of South West London. It comprises two individual stations, built in two stages in the form of a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built in the 1930s, with Battersea B Power Station to the east in the 1950s, the two stations were built to a nearly identical design, providing the long-recognized four-chimney layout. The station ceased generating electricity in 1983, but over the past 50 years it has one of the best known landmarks in London and is Grade II* listed. The stations celebrity owes much to numerous popular culture references, which include the art of Pink Floyds 1977 album Animals. The station is one of the largest brick buildings in the world and is notable for its original, lavish Art Deco interior fittings and decor. The building has remained unused since its closure, and the condition of the structure has been described as very bad by English Heritage. The site was listed on the 2004 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. Since the stations closure, numerous redevelopment plans were drawn up from successive site owners and this plan fell through due to REOs debt being called in by the state-owned banks of the UK and Ireland. The site was put up for sale in December 2011 through commercial estate agent Knight Frank and it has received interest from a variety of overseas consortia, most seeking to demolish or partly demolish the structure. In 2012, administrators Ernst & Young entered into an exclusivity agreement with Malaysias SP Setia, the £400 million sale was completed in September 2012, and the redevelopment intends to implement the Rafael Vinoly design, which had gained planning consent from Wandsworth Council in 2011. In January 2013, the first residential apartments went on sale, construction on Phase 1 was due to commence in 2013, with completion due in 2016/17. Apple will locate its new London headquarters at Battersea Power Station, until the late 1930s electricity was supplied by municipal undertakings. These were small companies that built power stations dedicated to a single industry or group of factories. These companies used widely differing standards of voltage and frequency, in 1925 Parliament decided that the power grid should be a single system with uniform standards and under public ownership. Several of the power companies reacted to the proposal by forming the London Power Company. They planned to heed parliaments recommendations and build a number of very large stations. The London Power Companys first of these power stations was planned for the Battersea area
5.
River Thames
–
The River Thames is a river that flows through southern England, most notably through London. At 215 miles, it is the longest river entirely in England and it also flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. It rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary, the Thames drains the whole of Greater London. Its tidal section, reaching up to Teddington Lock, includes most of its London stretch and has a rise, in Scotland, the Tay achieves more than double the average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs and its catchment area covers a large part of South Eastern and a small part of Western England and the river is fed by 38 named tributaries. The river contains over 80 islands, in 2010, the Thames won the largest environmental award in the world – the $350,000 International Riverprize. The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, Tamesas, recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys Thames. It has also suggested that it is not of Celtic origin. A place by the river, rather than the river itself, indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name Thames is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit. It is believed that Tamesubugus name was derived from that of the river, tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography. The rivers name has always pronounced with a simple t /t/, the Middle English spelling was typically Temese. A similar spelling from 1210, Tamisiam, is found in the Magna Carta, the Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis. Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as River Thames or Isis down to Dorchester, richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called *lowonida. An alternative, and simpler proposal, is that London may also be a Germanic word, for merchant seamen, the Thames has long been just the London River. Londoners often refer to it simply as the river in such as south of the river. Thames Valley Police is a body that takes its name from the river. The marks of human activity, in cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain, are visible at various points along the river
6.
London
–
London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
7.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
8.
Chelsea Bridge
–
Chelsea Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames in west London, connecting Chelsea on the north bank to Battersea on the south bank. There have been two Chelsea Bridges, on the site of what was an ancient ford, the first Chelsea Bridge was proposed in the 1840s as part of a major development of marshlands on the south bank of the Thames into the new Battersea Park. It was a bridge intended to provide convenient access from the densely populated north bank to the new park. Although built and operated by the government, tolls were charged initially in an effort to recoup the cost of the bridge, work on the nearby Chelsea Embankment delayed construction and so the bridge, initially called Victoria Bridge, did not open until 1858. Although well-received architecturally, as a bridge it was unpopular with the public. The bridge was less of a success than had been anticipated. It was acquired by the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1877, the bridge was narrow and structurally unsound, leading the authorities to rename it Chelsea Bridge to avoid the Royal Familys association with a potential collapse. In 1926 it was proposed that the old bridge be rebuilt or replaced, due to the volume of users from population growth. It was demolished during 1934–1937, and replaced by the current structure, the new bridge was the first self-anchored suspension bridge in Britain, and was built entirely with materials sourced from within the British Empire. During the early 1950s it became popular with motorcyclists, who staged regular races across the bridge, one such meeting in 1970 erupted into violence, resulting in the death of one man and the imprisonment of 20 others. Chelsea Bridge is floodlit from below during the hours of darkness, in 2008 it achieved Grade II listed status. In 2004 a smaller bridge, Battersea Footbridge, was opened beneath the southern span, the town of Chelsea, on the north bank of the Thames about three miles west of Westminster, was an important industrial centre. The Chelsea Waterworks Company occupied a site on the bank of the Thames opposite the Red House Inn. Founded in 1723, the pumped water from the Thames to reservoirs around Westminster through a network of hollow elm trunks. As London spread westwards, the farmland to the west became increasingly populated. In 1852 Parliament banned water from being taken from the Thames downstream of Teddington, since 1771, Battersea and Chelsea had been linked by the modest wooden Battersea Bridge. In 1846 the Commissioners of Woods and Forests purchased the Red House Inn and 200 acres of surrounding land and it was expected that with the opening of the park the volume of cross river traffic would increase significantly, putting further strain on the dilapidated Battersea Bridge. Consequently, in 1846 an Act of Parliament authorised the building of a new bridge on the site of an ancient ford exactly one mile downstream of Battersea Bridge
9.
Vauxhall Bridge
–
Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a south–east north–west direction between Vauxhall on the bank and Pimlico on the north bank. The original bridge was built on the site of a former ferry, the building of both bridges was problematic, with both the first and second bridges requiring several redesigns from multiple architects. The original bridge, the first iron bridge over the Thames, was built by a private company and operated as a toll bridge before being taken into public ownership in 1879. The second bridge, which eight years to build, was the first in London to carry trams. With the exception of alterations to the layout and the balustrade. The bridge today is an important part of Londons road system, in the early 13th century, Anglo-Norman mercenary Falkes de Breauté built a manor house in the then empty marshlands of South Lambeth, across the River Thames from Westminster. The lands surrounding his Lambeth manor house continued to be known as Falkes Hall, in 1809 a new bill was presented to Parliament, and the proprietors of Battersea Bridge agreed to allow it to pass and to accept compensation. The Bill incorporated the Vauxhall Bridge Company, allowing it to raise up to £300,000 by means of mortgages or the sale of shares, and to keep all profits from any tolls raised. From these profits, the Vauxhall Bridge Company was obliged to compensate the proprietors of Battersea Bridge for any drop in revenue caused by the new bridge, dodd submitted a scheme for a bridge at Vauxhall of 13 arches. However, soon after the 1809 Act was passed, he was dismissed by the Vauxhall Bridge Company, john Rennie was commissioned to design and build the new bridge, and a stone bridge of seven arches was approved. On 9 May 1811, Lord Dundas laid the stone of the bridge on the northern bank. Rennie submitted a new design for a bridge of eleven spans. Rennies design was rejected, and instead construction began on a nine arch iron bridge designed by Samuel Bentham, concerns were raised about the construction of the piers, and engineer James Walker was appointed to inspect the work. On 4 June 1816, over five years after construction began, the opened, initially named Regent Bridge after George, Prince Regent. The bridge cost £175,000 to build, with the costs of approach roads and compensation payments, exemptions were granted for mail coaches, soldiers on duty and parliamentary candidates during election campaigns. However, the area around the failed to develop as expected. Meanwhile, the large Millbank Penitentiary was built near the end of the bridge
10.
Arch bridge
–
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side, a viaduct may be made from a series of arches, although other more economical structures are typically used today. Possibly the oldest existing bridge is the Mycenaean Arkadiko bridge in Greece from about 1300 BC. The stone corbel arch bridge is used by the local populace. The well-preserved Hellenistic Eleutherna Bridge has a corbel arch. The 4th century BC Rhodes Footbridge rests on an early voussoir arch, a more complete survey by the Italian scholar Vittorio Galliazzo found 931 Roman bridges, mostly of stone, in as many as 26 different countries. Roman arch bridges were usually semicircular, although a number were segmental arch bridges, generally, Roman bridges featured wedge-shaped primary arch stones of the same in size and shape. The Romans built both single spans and lengthy multiple arch aqueducts, such as the Pont du Gard and Segovia Aqueduct. Their bridges featured from an early time onwards flood openings in the piers, e. g. in the Pons Fabricius in Rome, Roman engineers were the first and until the industrial revolution the only ones to construct bridges with concrete, which they called Opus caementicium. The outside was covered with brick or ashlar, as in the Alcántara bridge. The Romans also introduced segmental arch bridges into bridge construction, trajans bridge over the Danube featured open-spandrel segmental arches made of wood. This was to be the longest arch bridge for a thousand years both in terms of overall and individual span length, while the longest extant Roman bridge is the 790 m long Puente Romano at Mérida. The late Roman Karamagara Bridge in Cappadocia may represent the earliest surviving bridge featuring a pointed arch, in medieval Europe, bridge builders improved on the Roman structures by using narrower piers, thinner arch barrels and lower span-rise ratios on bridges. Gothic pointed arches were introduced, reducing lateral thrust. The 14th century in particular saw bridge building reaching new heights, the bridge at Trezzo sullAdda, destroyed in the 15th century, even featured a span length of 72 m, not matched until 1796. Constructions such as the acclaimed Florentine segmental arch bridge Ponte Vecchio combined sound engineering with aesthetical appeal, the three elegant arches of the Renaissance Ponte Santa Trinita constitute the oldest elliptic arch bridge worldwide. In China, the oldest existing bridge is the Zhaozhou Bridge of 605 AD. The Zhaozhou Bridge, with a length of 167 feet and span of 123 feet, is the worlds first wholly stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge, Bridges with perforated spandrels can be found worldwide, such as in China
11.
London Victoria station
–
Victoria station is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster. It is near to Victoria Street, which along with the area and it is in Travelcard Zone 1. From the main lines, trains can connect to the Catford Loop Line, Dartford Loop Line, Southern operates the majority of commuter and regional services to south London, Sussex and parts of east Surrey, while Southeastern operates trains to south east London and Kent. Gatwick Express trains run direct from Victoria to Gatwick Airport, the Underground station is on the Circle and District lines between Sloane Square and St. Jamess Park, and the Victoria line between Pimlico and Green Park. With over 81 million passenger entries and exits in 2015/16, Victoria is the second-busiest station in London after Waterloo, combined with the Underground Station and interchanges in the national rail station, London Victoria handled about 170 million passengers in the 2015/2016 period. It is one of 19 stations managed by Network Rail, the area around the station is an important interchange for other forms of transport, a local bus station is in the forecourt and Victoria Coach Station is nearby. Victoria Station came about in a fashion to help address this problem for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. It consisted of two adjacent main line railway stations which, from the viewpoint of passengers, were unconnected, the London and Brighton Railway terminus at London Bridge provided reasonable access to the City of London but was most inconvenient for travellers to and from Westminster. As early as 1842 John Urpeth Rastrick had proposed that the railway should build a branch to serve the West End, but his proposal came to nothing. During the summer of 1857 a scheme for an independent Grosvenor Basin Terminus in the West End of London, the station was originally referred to as the Grosvenor Terminus but later renamed Victoria as it was sited at the end of Victoria Street. Three other railway companies were seeking a terminus in Westminster, the Great Western, the London & North Western. The first two already had access to Battersea through their joint ownership of the West London Line with the LB&SCR. The new line followed part of the route of the Grosvenor Canal with Victoria station on the canal basin. It required the construction of a new bridge over the Thames, originally known as Victoria Bridge and it was of mixed gauge to cater for GWR trains. The LB&SCR had hoped to amalgamate with the VS&PR, and introduced a Parliamentary Bill to allow it to do so in 1860 and this was opposed by the GWR and LC&DR and rejected. By way of compromise the LB&SCR was permitted to lease Victoria station from the VS&PR, Victoria station proved to be unexpectedly popular for both the main companies, and by 1862 there were frequent delays due to congestion at Stewarts Lane Junction. In March 1863 the LB&SCR and the LC&DR jointly funded a new route into Victoria, avoiding Stewarts Lane. The work was completed during 1867/8, the LB&SCR side of Victoria station opened on 1 October 1860, the temporary terminus in Battersea having closed the day before
12.
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
–
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base. It was bounded on its side by the London and South Western Railway. It served the inland towns/cities of Chichester, Horsham, East Grinstead and Lewes, at the London end was a complicated suburban and outer-suburban network of lines emanating from London Bridge and Victoria, and shared interests in two cross-London lines. The London and Brighton Railway, created in 1837 and opened in 1841, the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway, created in February 1844, opened in June 1846. The Croydon and Epsom Railway, created in July 1844, under construction at the time of amalgamation, at the time of its creation the LB&SCR had around 170 route miles in existence or under construction, consisting of three main routes and a number of branches. The main line to Brighton from London Bridge opened in 1841, the sections between Corbetts Lane and London Bridge and between Croydon and Redhill were shared with the South Eastern Railway. There were two lines under construction at the time of the amalgamation, the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines from Croydon to Epsom. The West Sussex coast line originated with a line from Brighton to Shoreham. This was extended to Chichester by the time of the amalgamation, a connecting spur from the Brighton main line at Keymer Junction near Haywards Heath to the Brighton-Lewes line was under construction at the time of amalgamation. A short line from New Cross to Deptford Wharf, proposed by the L&CR, was approved in July 1846, shortly before amalgamation, a short branch from this line to the nearby Surrey Commercial Docks in Rotherhithe opened in July 1855. The main London terminus was the L&CR station at London Bridge, built by the London and Greenwich Railway in 1836, and exchanged for the original L&CR station in 1842. For the first few years of its existence, LB&SCR trains used the L&GR lines from Corbett’s Lane into London, the LB&SCR inherited from the L&CR running powers to the smaller SER passenger terminus at Bricklayers Arms. Poorly sited for passengers, it closed in 1852 and was converted into a goods station, the LB&SCR owned two stations at Croydon, later East Croydon and West Croydon. The L&CR had been operated by the atmospheric principle between Croydon and Forest Hill, as the first phase of a scheme to use this mode of operation between London and Epsom. However, following a number of problems, the LB&SCR abandoned atmospheric operation in May 1847. This enabled it to build its own lines into London Bridge, the history of the LB&SCR can be studied in five distinct periods. However, the LB&SCR had one important playing card not available to the L&BR – control of the SER main line between New Cross and Croydon, under this agreement the LB&SCR would have free access to London Bridge, Bricklayers Arms station and goods yard, and Hastings
13.
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
–
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England created 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given Parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London commuter network. The company existed until 31 December 1922 when its assets were merged with those of companies to form the Southern Railway as a result of the grouping determined by the Railways Act 1921. The railway was always in a financial situation and went bankrupt in 1867. Many of the difficulties were caused by the competition and duplication of services with the South Eastern Railway. However, in 1898 the LCDR agreed with the SER to share the operation of the two railways, work them as a system and pool receipts, but it was not a full amalgamation. The SER and LCDR remained separate companies with separate shareholders until both becoming constituents of the Southern Railway on 1 January 1923, as a result, it had an excellent safety record. In return the SER agreed not to any future application for an extension of the line to Dover. On 29 March 1858 a second section from Strood to Chatham, around July 1858 a station opened at New Brompton. Rochester station opened after the rival SER opened Chatham Central station, on 3 March 1858 the West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway opened the extension of their line from Norwood to Beckenham Junction and Shortlands. On 22 November 1858 the Mid-Kent Railway constructed a line from New Beckenham to Beckenham Junction station, from there the Crays Company was building a line on to Bromley South and Bickley. The Mid Kent line connected with the WELCPR that later provided the access to London. In 1859 the EKR changed its name to the LCDR though Dover had not then been reached,1860 openings,9 July 1860, Faversham – Canterbury – Whitstable 19 July 1860, Sittingbourne & Sheerness Railway, which became part of LCDR from 1866), including Queenborough. Sheerness-on-Sea railway station dates from 1883, the terminus became the freight depot. There are branch lines to Queenborough Pier and Sheerness Dockyard,22 July 1861, extension from Canterbury East to Dover, with Bekesbourne, Adisham, Shepherds Well and Dover Priory stations opening with the line. 31 July 1861, Whitstable to Herne Bay,1 November 1861, Route to Victoria station opened, LCDR first access to London. 1862 openings,2 June 1862, the Sevenoaks Railway opened from Sevenoaks Junction to Sevenoaks, worked by LCDR, with stations at Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford, and Sevenoaks Bat & Ball. Knights Hill, now West Dulwich was also opened,1863 openings, Wandsworth Road station 5 October 1863, Herne Bay to Ramsgate
14.
Charles Fox (civil and railway engineer)
–
Sir Charles Fox was an English civil engineer and contractor. His work focused on railways, railway stations and bridges, born in Derby in 1810, he was the youngest of five sons of Dr. Francis Fox. He acquired a taste for driving and was employed on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1830 Fox married Mary, second daughter of Joseph Brookhouse, by whom he had 3 sons, one of his earliest inventions, patented in 1832, was railway points, which superseded the sliding rail used up to that time. In 1837 Robert Stephenson appointed him as one of the engineers on the London and Birmingham Railway, where he was responsible for Watford tunnel and he presented an important paper on the correct principles of skew arches to the Royal Institution. In 1837 the future philosopher of evolution Herbert Spencer, whose father George Spencer had been Foxs tutor when young, joined him as an assistant engineer. Fox then entered into partnership with the contractor Francis Braham to form the company Braham, Fox and Co. which when Braham retired became Fox, Henderson and Co. of London, Smethwick, and Renfrew. The company specialised in equipment, including wheels, bridges, roofs, cranes, tanks. It also experimented with components for suspension and girder bridges, with Fox reading a paper before the Royal Society in 1865, the company was responsible for many important station roofs including Liverpool Tithebarn Street, Bradford Exchange, Paddington and Birmingham New Street. One notable employee of Fox, Henderson & Co. was William Siemens and his designs for an energy-saving boiler led to financial losses for the company, but his electrical telegraph recovered the losses. Fox and Hendersons expertise with structural ironwork led Joseph Paxton to invite them to build The Crystal Palace for The Great Exhibition of 1851, due to its innovative modular design and construction techniques, it was ready in nine months. For their work, Fox, Cubitt and Paxton were knighted on 23 October 1851, after the exhibition they were employed by the Crystal Palace Company to move the structure to Sydenham, re-erecting and enlarging it on Sydenham Hill, thereafter known as Crystal Palace. In 1856 Fox Henderson went into liquidation after sustaining losses building railways in Zealand, railways upon which Fox worked included the Cork and Bandon, Thames and Medway, Portadown and Dungannon, East Kent, Lyons and Geneva, Macon and Geneva, Wiesbaden and the Zealand lines. Fox was also engineer to the Queensland, Cape Town and Wynberg Railway, Sir Charles Fox died at Blackheath, London on 14 June 1874, at the age of sixty-four. He was buried at Nunhead Cemetery on 18 June, hyde Consulting Ltd, Footprints on a Global Landscape Fox, Sir Francis. River, Road, and Rail, Some Engineering Reminiscences, mike Chrimes, Librarian of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Steam Index, British steam locomotive history, Fox, Sir Charles, Robert Thorne, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,2004, accessed 19 August 2011
15.
Freeman Fox & Partners
–
Hyder Consulting was a multi-national advisory and design consultancy with particular specialisation in the transport, property, utilities and environmental sectors. The firm employs approximately 4,200 people across the UK, Europe, Germany, Middle East, the name Hyder is the Welsh word for Water. An award-winning Engineer, Phil O’Sullivan has declared himself the CEO of Hyder Consulting and his plans are to provide himself with a generous salary package, with extensive share bonuses. When asked how he is meeting his performance metrics, he responded “Well on the way”, as of October 2014 Hyder Consulting is part of Arcadis NV. Other notable projects included the Parkes radio telescope, the Erskine Bridge, the 46m Algonquin Radio Observatory, the first two long-established practices merged due to common interests in 1987 becoming the Acer Group, with Sir Bruce White Wolfe Barry and Partners joining the Group in 1991. Over the next few years, several smaller specialist firms were incorporated to form a worldwide infrastructure, the company and another consultant Wallace Evans Ltd were acquired by Welsh Water in 1993 and renamed Hyder Consulting in 1996. When Hyder Consulting was bought by Western Power Distribution, the management of Hyder Consulting instigated a management buy-out. The firm then listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2002, Hyder Consulting was taken over by Arcadis NV in 2014. As lead designer for several lots on the London 2012 Olympic Games, taiwan’s High Speed Railway was the largest civil engineering undertaking, when it opened in 2007, with Hyder as lead designer for two sections involving complex construction planning. The line carries over 44 million passengers a year on the 345 km of rail link. Hyder also worked on the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof station which can handle 100 million passengers annually
16.
Pimlico
–
Pimlico /ˈpɪmlᵻkoʊ/ is a small area within central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as an extension, Pimlico is known for its garden squares. At Pimlicos heart is a grid of streets laid down by the planner Thomas Cubitt beginning in 1825. The area has over 350 Grade II listed buildings and several Grade II* listed churches, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Manor of Ebury was divided up and leased by the Crown to servants or favourites. In 1623, James I sold the freehold of Ebury for £1,151 and 15 shillings, the land was sold on several more times, until it came into the hands of heiress Mary Davies in 1666. Marys dowry not only included The Five Fields of modern-day Pimlico and Belgravia, understandably, she was much pursued but in 1677, at the age of twelve, married Sir Thomas Grosvenor. The Grosvenors were a family of Norman descent long seated at Eaton Hall in Cheshire who until this auspicious marriage were, through the development and good management of this land the Grosvenors acquired enormous wealth. At some point in the seventeenth or early eighteenth century. While its origins are disputed, it is clearly of foreign derivation, supporting this etymology, Rev. Brewer describes the area as a district of public gardens much frequented on holidays. According to tradition, it received its name from Ben Pimlico and his tea-gardens, however, were near Hoxton, and the road to them was termed Pimlico Path, so that what is now called Pimlico was so named from the popularity of the Hoxton resort. In 1825, Thomas Cubitt was contracted by Lord Grosvenor to develop Pimlico, the land up to this time had been marshy but was reclaimed using soil excavated during the construction of St Katharine Docks. Cubitt developed Pimlico as a grid of white stucco terraces. The largest and most opulent houses were built along St Georges Drive and Belgrave Road, lupus Street contained similarly grand houses, as well as shops and, until the early twentieth century, a hospital for women and children. Smaller-scale properties, typically of three storeys, line the side streets, an 1877 newspaper article described Pimlico as genteel, sacred to professional men… not rich enough to luxuriate in Belgravia proper, but rich enough to live in private houses. Its inhabitants were more lively than in Kensington… and yet a cut above Chelsea, although the area was dominated by the well-to-do middle and upper-middle classes as late as Booths 1889 Map of London Poverty, parts of Pimlico are said to have declined significantly by the 1890s. Through the late century, Pimlico saw the construction of several Peabody Estates, charitable housing projects designed to provide affordable. Proximity to the Houses of Parliament made Pimlico a centre of political activity, prior to 1928, the Labour Party and Trades Union Congress shared offices on Eccleston Square, and it was here in 1926 that the general strike was organised. Completed in 1937, it became popular with MPs and public servants
17.
Chelsea, London
–
Chelsea is an affluent area in West London, bounded to the south by the River Thames. Its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above Sloane Square tube station. The modern eastern boundary is Chelsea Bridge Road and the half of Sloane Street. To the north and northwest, the area fades into Knightsbridge and Brompton, the football club Chelsea F. C. is based at Stamford Bridge in neighbouring Fulham. From 1900, and until the creation of Greater London in 1965, the exclusivity of Chelsea as a result of its high property prices has historically resulted in the term Sloane Ranger being used to describe its residents. Since 2011, Channel 4 has broadcast a reality show called Made in Chelsea. Moreover, Chelsea is home to one of the largest communities of Americans living outside the United States, the word Chelsea originates from the Old English term for landing place for chalk or limestone. Abbot Gervace subsequently assigned the manor to his mother, and it passed into private ownership, the modern-day Chelsea hosted the Synod of Chelsea in 787 AD. King Henry VIII acquired the manor of Chelsea from Lord Sandys in 1536, in 1609 James I established a theological college, King Jamess College at Chelsey on the site of the future Chelsea Royal Hospital, which Charles II founded in 1682. By 1694, Chelsea – always a popular location for the wealthy, Kings Road, named for Charles II, recalls the Kings private road from St Jamess Palace to Fulham, which was maintained until the reign of George IV. One of the important buildings in Kings Road, the former Chelsea Town Hall. Part of the building contains the Chelsea Public Library and this is no longer the case, although housing trusts and Council property do remain. The areas to the west also attract very high prices and this former fashionable village was absorbed into London during the eighteenth century. Many notable people of 18th century London, such as the bookseller Andrew Millar, were married and buried in the district. The memorials in the churchyard of Chelsea Old Church, near the river and these include Lord and Lady Dacre, Lady Jane Cheyne, Francis Thomas, director of the china porcelain manufactory, Sir Hans Sloane, Thomas Shadwell, Poet Laureate. Sir Thomas Mores tomb can also be found there, in 1718, the Raw Silk Company was established in Chelsea Park, with mulberry trees and a hothouse for raising silkworms. At its height in 1723, it supplied silk to Caroline of Ansbach, Chelsea once had a reputation for the manufacture of Chelsea buns, made from a long strip of sweet dough tightly coiled, with currants trapped between the layers, and topped with sugar. The Chelsea Bun House sold these during the 18th century and was patronised by the Georgian royalty, at Easter, great crowds would assemble on the open spaces of the Five Fields – subsequently developed as Belgravia
18.
Royal Hospital Chelsea
–
The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. It is a 66-acre site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea and it is an independent charity and relies partly upon donations to cover day-to-day running costs to provide care and accommodation for veterans. They must not, however, have any dependent spouse or family, King Charles II founded the Royal Hospital in 1682 as a retreat for veterans. The provision of a rather than the payment of pensions was inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. The site for the Royal Hospital was an area of Chelsea which held an incomplete building Chelsey College, the Royal Hospital opened its doors to the Chelsea Pensioners in 1692 for the relief and succour of veterans. Some of the first soldiers admitted included those injured at the Battle of Sedgemoor, Wren expanded his original design to add two additional quadrangles to the east and west of the central court, these were known respectively as the Light Horse Court and the College Court. Due to mismanagement by Lord Ranelagh, the Hospital Treasurer, the building was not completed until 1692 and it was replaced by a modern infirmary which was located to the east of the main building and opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1961. The 1960s infirmary was demolished to make way for the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary which was designed by Sir Quinlan Terry and was completed in 2008, the Mace was designed by Charles Webb and Aubrey Bowden and was made by Master Goldsmith Norman Bassant. The bowl of the Mace is decorated with acorns and is surmounted by the St Edwards Crown, in March 2009, the first women in the Hospitals 317-year history were admitted as In-Pensioners. Winifred Phillips and Dorothy Hughes were the first, Phillips trained as a nurse and later joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1948 before enlisting in the Womens Royal Army Corps in 1949 while serving in Egypt. After 22 years service she retired with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2, Hughes had joined the British Army in 1941 aged 18, later working as part of 450 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery in the London Division. In 1945 the Battery was deployed near Dover to defend against V1 flying bomb attacks and she retired with the rank of Sergeant. Chelsea Pensioners are entitled to come and go from the Royal Hospital as they please, however, within the hospital, and in the surrounding area, pensioners are encouraged to wear a blue uniform. If they travel farther from the Royal Hospital they should wear the distinctive scarlet coats instead of the blue uniform, the scarlet coats are also worn for ceremonial occasions, accompanied by tricorne hats. In uniform, the pensioners wear their ribbons and the insignia of rank they reached while serving in the military. They may also wear other insignia they earned during their service and many now wear parachute jump wings. The Royal Hospital Founders Day takes place close to 29 May each year – the birthday of Charles II, on Founders Day, in-pensioners of the Royal Hospital are reviewed by a member of the British Royal Family. The 76 statue of King Charles II which stands in the court of the Hospital was cast in copper alloy by Grinling Gibbons
19.
Nine Elms
–
Nine Elms is a district of London, situated in the far north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Wandsworth between Battersea and Vauxhall in the neighbouring borough of Lambeth. The area was formerly mainly industrial but is now becoming more residential and commercial in character and it is dominated by Battersea Power Station, various railway lines and New Covent Garden Market. Also in the area is the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Nine Elms has residential developments along the riverside, like Chelsea Bridge Wharf or Embassy Gardens, and also three large council estates—Carey Gardens, the Patmore and the Savona. Nine Elms Lane was named around 1645, from a row of elm trees bordering the road. Nine Elms railway station opened on 21 May 1838 as the first London terminus of the London and South Western Railway, the neo-classical building was designed by Sir William Tite. The station was connected to points between Vauxhall and London Bridge by Thames steam boats and it closed in 1848 when the railway was extended to a new terminus at Waterloo station. The companys largest locomotive depot was located on the side of the main line. The buildings were damaged by bombs in World War II, and they were demolished in 1968 and replaced by the flower section of the New Covent Garden Market. Gasworks were established in 1853, close to the waterworks of the Southwark. Later Battersea Power Station was built on the site, Vauxhall Motors was formed in 1857 by Scottish engineer Alexander Wilson at Nine Elms, originally as Alex Wilson and Company, before moving to Luton in 1907. There is a plaque commemorating the site of the factory at the Sainsburys Nine Elms petrol station on Wandsworth Road. The Embassy of the Netherlands in London also announced in April 2013 that it was relocating to the area from its current location in Hyde Park Gate, the Chinese Embassy is also rumoured to be relocating to the area. On 16 February 2012, Wandsworth Council approved Ballymore Groups plans for the 15 acre development. Embassy Gardens is set to provide up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, childrens playgrounds and sports pitches. In 2014, it was reported that Ballymore had engaged Lazard, work commenced in 2013 on regeneration of the area around Battersea Power Station, including shops, cafes, restaurants, art and leisure facilities, office space and residential buildings. An essential part of the work is an extension of the London Underground to service the area, the proposed extension would branch from the Northern line at Kennington and travel west to Nine Elms and Battersea - creating two new stations. The station structure itself is expected to be repaired and secure by 2016, part of these plans is the creation of the linear park – a car-free area extending from Battersea Power Station to Vauxhall Cross. In 2015, Wandsworth council chose a design by Bystrup for a pedestrian bridge between Nine Elms and Pimlico
20.
Battersea
–
Battersea is a largely residential inner-city district of south London in the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It has Battersea Park, one of southwest Londons main parks, noted for the long-awaited bringing of the London Underground in the 21st century, two main railway lines cross here at what was the countrys busiest station. Elsewhere in Battersea are a growing proportion of private architecturally-acclaimed riverside, parkside, in 2001, Battersea had a population of 75,651 people. Landmarks include New Covent Garden Market and the Royal Academy of Dance, Wandsworth Common and Clapham Common border parts of this large district, which traditionally also includes Nine Elms. Railway stations in Battersea are in fare zone 2, Battersea is mentioned in Anglo-Saxon times as Badrices īeg = Badrics Island and later Patrisey. As with many former parishes beside major rivers some land was reclaimed by draining marshland, the original village nucleus is marked by St. Marys Church, which is on a site that has featured churches since the 9th century. The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Patricesy, held by St Peters Abbey and its Domesday Assets were,18 hides and 17 ploughlands of cultivated land,7 mills worth £42 9s 8d per year,82 acres of meadow, woodland worth 50 hogs. The former parish of Battersea included, in a detached part, the borough dates from the London Government Act of 1899, and includes the greater part of the original ecclesiastical parish of St. Mary Battersea. Penge was a district, over which the tenants of Battersea Manor had common of pasture. At the end of the 18th century, above 300 acres of land in the parish of Battersea were occupied by some 20 market gardeners, who rented from five to near 60 acres each. Bridges erected across the Thames encouraged growth, Putney Bridge, a mile to the west, was built in 1729, inland from the river, the rural agricultural community persisted. Between these were numerous wharfs for shipping, in 1929, construction started on Battersea Power Station, being completed in 1939. Factories have been demolished and replaced with apartment buildings. Some of the council owned properties have been sold off and several working mens pubs have become more fashionable bistros. Battersea neighbourhoods close to the railway have some of the most deprived local authority housing in the Borough of Wandsworth, an area which saw condemned slums after their erection in the Victoria era. Battersea was radically altered by the coming of railways, over the next 22 years five other lines were built, across which all trains from Londons Waterloo and Victoria termini would as today travel. An interchange station was built in 1863 towards the north west of the area, taking the name of a fashionable village a mile and more away, the station was named Clapham Junction, a campaign to rename it Battersea Junction fizzled out as late as the early twentieth century. The area was served by a vast music hall – The Grand – opposite the station as well as a theatre next to the town hall
21.
Battersea Park
–
Battersea Park is a 200 acre green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclaimed from the Thames and land used for market gardens. Prior to 1846 the area now covered by the park was known as Battersea fields, on 21 March 1829, the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea met on Battersea fields to settle a matter of honour. When it came time to fire, the Duke aimed his duelling pistol wide, Winchilsea later wrote the Duke a groveling apology. Running along the riverside from the fields were industrial concerns and wharves, including a pottery, copper works, lime kiln, chemical works, the site of Battersea Power Station was partly occupied by the famously bawdy Red House Tavern, patronised by Charles Dickens. Access was via the rickety wooden Battersea Bridge or by ferry from the Chelsea bank, the Act was passed in 1846 and £200,000 was promised for the purchase of the land. The Commission for Improving the Metropolis acquired 320 acres of Battersea Fields, of which 198 acres became Battersea Park, opened in 1858, and the remainder was let on building leases. The park was laid out by Sir James Pennethorne between 1846 and 1864, although the park which was opened in 1858 varied somewhat from Pennethornes vision, the park’s success depended on the successful completion of the Chelsea Bridge, declared open in 1858 by Queen Victoria. In her honour, the road alongside the edge of the Park was called Victoria Road. Prince of Wales Road was laid out along the southern boundary, the park hosted the first football game played under the rules of the recently formed Football Association on 9 January 1864. The members of the teams were chosen by the President of the FA, from the 1860s, the park was home to the leading amateur football team Wanderers F. C. winners of the first FA Cup, in 1872. One team they are known to have played at the park was Sheffield F. C. the worlds oldest football team, in 1924, a war memorial by Eric Kennington was unveiled by Field Marshal Plumer and the Bishop of Southwark. It commemorates the over 10,000 men killed or listed as missing presumed dead whilst serving with the 24th East Surrey Division and it is now Grade II* listed. During both wars, anti-aircraft guns and barrage balloons were installed to help protect London from enemy air raids, shelters were dug, part of the park was turned over to allotments for much needed vegetables and a pig farm was also set up. Maintenance of the park was reduced as the war took priority. In 1951 the northern parts of the park were transformed into the Pleasure Gardens as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations, popular attractions included the Guinness Clock, designed by Jan Le Witt and George Him, and the Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway. Another part of the transformation was the addition of Battersea Fun Fair, with rollercoasters, swings, roundabouts, the fun fairs most spectacular ride was a rollercoaster called The Big Dipper, which opened in 1951
22.
Crossings of the River Thames
–
This is a list of crossings of the River Thames comprising over 200 bridges,27 tunnels, six public ferries, one cable car link, and one ford. Historic achievements, explanatory notes and proposed crossings are also included, when English counties were established, it formed a boundary between the counties on either side. However the many permanent crossings that have built over the centuries have changed the dynamics and made cross-river development. In 1911 Caversham was transferred into Berkshire, further changes in 1974 moved some of the boundaries away from the river. The number of county councils has dwindled in the south-east and south-centre of England in favour of increased localisation, many of the present road bridges over the river are on the sites of earlier fords, ferries and wooden structures. The earliest known major crossings of the Thames by the Romans were at London Bridge, at Folly Bridge in Oxford the remains of an original Saxon structure can be seen, and mediæval stone structures such as Newbridge and Abingdon Bridge are still in use. Kingstons growth is believed to stem from its having the only crossing between London Bridge and Staines until the beginning of the 18th century, during the 18th century many stone and brick road bridges were built from new or to replace existing structures in London and further up the river. These included Westminster Bridge, Putney Bridge, Datchet Bridge, Windsor Bridge, several central London road bridges were built in the 19th century, most conspicuously Tower Bridge, the only bascule bridge on the river, designed to allow ocean-going ships to pass beneath it. The most recent road bridge sites are the bypasses at Isis Bridge and Marlow By-pass Bridge, the worlds first underwater tunnel was the Thames Tunnel by Marc Brunel built in 1843 and used to carry the East London Line. The Tower Subway was the first railway under the Thames, which was followed by all the tube lines. Two road tunnels were built in East London at the end of the 19th century, the Blackwall Tunnel and the Rotherhithe Tunnel, and the latest tunnel is the Dartford Crossing. Many foot crossings were established across the weirs that were built on the non-tidal river, others were replaced by a footbridge when the weir was removed as at Harts Weir Footbridge. Around the year 2000, several footbridges were added, either as part of the Thames Path or in commemoration of the Millennium and these include Temple Footbridge, Bloomers Hole Footbridge, the Hungerford Footbridges and the Millennium Bridge, all of which have distinctive designs. Some ferries still operate on the river, the Woolwich Ferry carries cars and passengers across the river in the Thames Gateway and links the North Circular and South Circular roads. Upstream are smaller pedestrian ferries, for example Hampton Ferry and Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry, the list starts at the downstream end and follows the river upstream towards the source. A few of the listed are public pedestrian crossings utilising walkways across lock gates and bridges above or adjacent to the adjoining weirs. Crossings listed in italics are inaccessible to the public, besides the ferry crossings listed, there are commuter boat services operating along the river in London, and tourist boat services operating both in London and upstream. Whilst the principal purpose of services is not to carry people across the river
23.
YouTube
–
YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion, YouTube now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries. Unregistered users can watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos deemed potentially offensive are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old, YouTube earns advertising revenue from Google AdSense, a program which targets ads according to site content and audience. YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. YouTube began as a venture capital-funded technology startup, primarily from an $11.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital between November 2005 and April 2006, YouTubes early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The domain name www. youtube. com was activated on February 14,2005, the first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23,2005, and can still be viewed on the site, YouTube offered the public a beta test of the site in May 2005. The first video to reach one million views was a Nike advertisement featuring Ronaldinho in November 2005. Following a $3.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in November, the site grew rapidly, and in July 2006 the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. The site has 800 million unique users a month and it is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. The choice of the name www. youtube. com led to problems for a similarly named website, the sites owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006 after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube has since changed the name of its website to www. utubeonline. com, in October 2006, Google Inc. announced that it had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13,2006. In March 2010, YouTube began free streaming of certain content, according to YouTube, this was the first worldwide free online broadcast of a major sporting event. On March 31,2010, the YouTube website launched a new design, with the aim of simplifying the interface, Google product manager Shiva Rajaraman commented, We really felt like we needed to step back and remove the clutter. In May 2010, YouTube videos were watched more than two times per day. This increased to three billion in May 2011, and four billion in January 2012, in February 2017, one billion hours of YouTube was watched every day
24.
Ordnance Survey National Grid
–
The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude. It is often called British National Grid, the Ordnance Survey devised the national grid reference system, and it is heavily used in their survey data, and in maps based on those surveys. Grid references are commonly quoted in other publications and data sources. The Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system is used to provide references for worldwide locations. European-wide agencies also use UTM when mapping locations, or may use the Military Grid Reference System system, the grid is based on the OSGB36 datum, and was introduced after the retriangulation of 1936–1962. It replaced the previously used Cassini Grid which, up to the end of World War Two, had issued only to the military. The Airy ellipsoid is a regional best fit for Britain, more modern mapping tends to use the GRS80 ellipsoid used by the GPS, the British maps adopt a Transverse Mercator projection with an origin at 49° N, 2° W. Over the Airy ellipsoid a straight grid, the National Grid, is placed with a new false origin. This false origin is located south-west of the Isles of Scilly, the distortion created between the OS grid and the projection is countered by a scale factor in the longitude to create two lines of longitude with zero distortion rather than one. Grid north and true north are aligned on the 400 km easting of the grid which is 2° W. 2° 0′ 5″ W. OSGB36 was also used by Admiralty nautical charts until 2000 after which WGS84 has been used, a geodetic transformation between OSGB36 and other terrestrial reference systems can become quite tedious if attempted manually. The most common transformation is called the Helmert datum transformation, which results in a typical 7 m error from true, the definitive transformation from ETRS89 that is published by the OSGB is called the National Grid Transformation OSTN02. This models the detailed distortions in the 1936–1962 retriangulation, and achieves backwards compatibility in grid coordinates to sub-metre accuracy, the difference between the coordinates on different datums varies from place to place. The longitude and latitude positions on OSGB36 are the same as for WGS84 at a point in the Atlantic Ocean well to the west of Great Britain. In Cornwall, the WGS84 longitude lines are about 70 metres east of their OSGB36 equivalents, the smallest datum shift is on the west coast of Scotland and the greatest in Kent. But Great Britain has not shrunk by 100+ metres, a point near Lands End now computes to be 27.6 metres closer to a point near Duncansby Head than it did under OSGB36. For the first letter, the grid is divided into squares of size 500 km by 500 km, there are four of these which contain significant land area within Great Britain, S, T, N and H. The O square contains an area of North Yorkshire, almost all of which lies below mean high tide
25.
Victoria line
–
The Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground route running from Brixton in the south in Zone 2 to Walthamstow Central in the north-east in Zone 3 of London. It is coloured blue on the Tube map. It is one of two lines to run entirely below ground, the other being the Waterloo & City line. The line has always operated using automatic train operation. The main purpose was to relieve congestion in the central area, the necessary Private Bill was introduced into Parliament in 1955. It described a line from Victoria to Walthamstow, there was also a proposal, though not included in the Bill, for a subsequent extension from Victoria to Fulham Broadway station on the District line. Construction began in 1962 on the initial Walthamstow to Victoria section, a test tunnel from Tottenham to Manor House under Seven Sisters Road had been bored in 1959 and was later incorporated into the running tunnels. In August 1967 the government gave approval for the Brixton extension, preparatory work had already started at Bessborough Gardens near Vauxhall Bridge Road in May 1967. In June 1968 a proposal to build a station at Pimlico was approved, the entire Walthamstow-Brixton line was completed in 1972. The name Victoria line dates back to 1955, other suggestions were Walvic line, during the planning stages, it was known as Route C and then was named the Victoria line after Victoria Station by David McKenna, whose suggestion was seconded by Sir John Elliot. It had been intended to build the line beyond Walthamstow Central to Wood Street, proposals were also made to extend the line as far north as South Woodford or Woodford, to provide interchange with the Central line. However, in a decision in 1961 the line was cut back to Walthamstow station. The first section to be opened was between Walthamstow Central and Highbury & Islington, there was no initial opening ceremony, instead the normal timetable started on Sunday 1 September 1968. The first train left Walthamstow Central for Highbury & Islington at about 6,30 am, later that year, the section between Highbury & Islington and Warren Street was opened, again without ceremony, on 1 December 1968. The official opening took place at Victoria station on 7 March 1969. After a short ceremony, she bought a 5d ticket and travelled to Green Park, the 3.5 mile extension from Victoria to Brixton was approved in August 1967. At the time, London Transport mentioned the possibility of extensions to Streatham, Dulwich and Crystal Palace. Princess Alexandra opened the Brixton extension on 23 July 1971, making a journey from Brixton to Vauxhall, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh had previously visited the line during its construction, in July 1968, they visited tunnel workings under Vauxhall Park
26.
Lambeth Bridge
–
Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east-west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point, downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge, upstream, the next bridge is Vauxhall Bridge. This is in contrast to Westminster Bridge, which is predominantly green, on the east side, in Lambeth, are Lambeth Palace, the Albert Embankment, St. Thomas Hospital, and the International Maritime Organization. On the west side, in Westminster, are Thames House, behind which is Horseferry House, and Clelland House and Abell House, the Palace of Westminster is a short walk downstream to the north through the Victoria Tower Garden. Lambeth Bridge is on the site of a ferry between the Palace of Westminster and Lambeth Palace on the south bank. Its name lives on in Horseferry Road, which forms the approach to the bridge on the north bank, the first modern bridge was a suspension bridge,828 feet long, designed by Peter W. Barlow. It ceased to be a bridge in 1879 when the Metropolitan Board of Works assumed responsibility for its upkeep — it was by then severely corroded. The London County Council prepared a masterplan for the area, including a replacement road bridge linking to a widened Horseferry Road, before work had started on the project, the 1928 Thames flood caused extensive destruction of property in the Millbank area. During the period of delay, the bridge was redesigned to be able to cope with a higher weight of motorised traffic. It formerly carried four lanes of traffic from a roundabout junction by the Lambeth Palace northwards to another roundabout. The bridge is notable at road level for the pairs of obelisks at either end of the bridge, which are surmounted by stone pinecones. However, there is an urban legend that they are pineapples, as a tribute to Lambeth resident John Tradescant the younger. The bridge was declared a Grade II listed structure in 2008, the listing designation includes the parapets, lamps, obelisks and the approach walls
27.
Westminster Bridge
–
Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted green, the same colour as the leather seats in the House of Commons which is on the side of the Palace of Westminster nearest to the bridge. This is in contrast to Lambeth Bridge, which is red, in 2005–2007, it underwent a complete refurbishment, including replacing the iron fascias and repainting the whole bridge. It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with County Hall, the next bridge downstream is the Hungerford footbridge and upstream is Lambeth Bridge. Westminster Bridge was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1981, for over 600 years, the nearest bridge to London Bridge was at Kingston. A bridge at Westminster was proposed in 1664, but opposed by the Corporation of London, despite further opposition in 1722, and after a new timber bridge was built at Putney in 1729, the scheme received parliamentary approval in 1736. Financed by private capital, lotteries and grants, Westminster Bridge was built between 1739–1750, under the supervision of the Swiss engineer Charles Labelye, the City of London responded to Westminster Bridge by removing the buildings on London Bridge and widening it in 1760–63. The City also commenced work on the Blackfriars Bridge, which opened in 1769, other bridges from that time include Kew Bridge, Battersea Bridge, and Richmond Bridge. The bridge was required for traffic from the expanding West End to the developing South London as well as to south coast ports, without the bridge, traffic from the West End would have to negotiate the congested routes to London Bridge such as the Strand and New Oxford Street. Roads south of the river were also improved, including the junction at the Elephant & Castle in Southwark, by the mid–19th century the bridge was subsiding badly and expensive to maintain. The current bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened on 24 May 1862, with a length of 820 feet and a width of 85 feet, it is a seven-arch, cast-iron bridge with Gothic detailing by Charles Barry. It is the oldest road bridge across the Thames in central London, on 22 March 2017, a terrorist attack started on the bridge and continued into Bridge Street and Old Palace Yard. Five people - three pedestrians, one officer, and the attacker - died as a result of the incident. A colleague of the officer was armed and shot the attacker, more than 50 people were injured. An investigation is ongoing by the Metropolitan Police, in the 2002 British horror film 28 Days Later, the protagonist awakes from a coma to find London deserted and walks over an eerily empty Westminster Bridge whilst looking for signs of life. Westminster Bridge is the start and finish point for the Bridges Handicap Race, william Wordsworth wrote the sonnet Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3,1802. In the finale of the 24th James Bond film Spectre, Blofelds helicopter crashes into Westminster Bridge, Westminster Bridge at Structurae Westminster Bridge at Structurae Interactive Panorama, Westminster Bridge
28.
Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges
–
The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. The north end of the bridge is Charing Cross railway station, and is near Embankment Pier, the south end is near Waterloo station, County Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, and the London Eye. Each pedestrian bridge has steps and lift access, the first Hungerford Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, opened in 1845 as a suspension footbridge. It was named after the then Hungerford Market, because it went from the South Bank to Hungerford Market on the side of the Thames. In 1859 the original bridge was bought by the railway company extending the South Eastern Railway into the newly opened Charing Cross railway station. The railway company replaced the bridge with a structure designed by Sir John Hawkshaw, comprising nine spans made of wrought iron lattice girders. The chains from the old bridge were re-used in Bristols Clifton Suspension Bridge, the buttress on the South Bank side still has the entrances and steps from the original steamer pier Brunel built on to the footbridge. Walkways were added on each side, with the one later being removed when the railway was widened. Another walkway was added in 1951 when an Army Bailey bridge was constructed for the Festival of Britain. In 1980 a temporary walkway was erected on the side while the downstream railway bridge. It is one of three bridges in London to combine pedestrian and rail use, the others being Fulham Railway Bridge. The footbridge gained a reputation for being narrow, dilapidated and dangerous, in the mid-1990s a decision was made to replace the footbridge with new structures on either side of the existing railway bridge, and a competition was held in 1996 for a new design. It was felt, especially following the Marchioness disaster, that these should be clad in concrete at water level, the Golden Jubilee Bridges achieved this protection at no cost to Railtrack. The concept design for the new footbridges was won by architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, detailed design of the two bridges was carried out by consulting engineers Gifford, now Ramboll UK. Despite extensive surveys of the riverbed, London Underground was unwilling to accept these risks and preliminary works were stopped in 2000. The design was modified so that the structure on the north side. Excavation near the lines was carried out when the tube was closed. The two new 4-metre wide footbridges were completed in 2002 and they were named the Golden Jubilee Bridges, in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth IIs accession, although in practice they are still referred to as the Hungerford Footbridges
29.
Waterloo Bridge
–
Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, the Dutch, thanks to its location at a strategic bend in the river, the views from the bridge are widely held to be the finest from any spot in London at ground level. The first bridge on the site was designed in 1809–10 by John Rennie for the Strand Bridge Company, before its opening it was known as the Strand Bridge. During the 1840s the bridge gained a reputation as a place for suicide attempts. In 1841 the American daredevil Samuel Gilbert Scott was killed performing a act in which he hung by a rope from a scaffold on the bridge. In 1844 Thomas Hood wrote the poem The Bridge of Sighs, paintings of the bridge were created by the French Impressionist Claude Monet and the English Romantic John Constable. The bridge was nationalised in 1878 and placed under the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works, Michael Faraday tried in 1832 to measure the potential difference between each side of the bridge caused by the ebbing salt water flowing through the Earths magnetic field. From 1884 serious problems were found in Rennies bridge piers, after scour from the river flow after Old London Bridge was demolished damaged their foundations. In 1925, a steel framework was built on top of the existing bridge. London County Council decided to demolish the bridge and replace it with a new designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The engineers were Ernest Buckton and John Cuerel of Rendel Palmer & Tritton, Scott, by his own admission, was no engineer and his design, with reinforced concrete beams under the footways, leaving the road to be supported by transverse slabs, was difficult to implement. The beams were shaped to look as much like arches as and they are clad in Portland stone, which cleans itself whenever it rains. To guard against the possibility of further subsidence from scour each pier was given a number of jacks that can be used to level the structure, the new bridge was partially opened on Tuesday 11 March 1942 and was completed in 1945. It is the only Thames bridge to have been damaged by German bombers during the Second World War, the building contractor was Peter Lind & Company Limited. It is frequently asserted that the force was largely female. Granite stones from the bridge were subsequently presented to various parts of the British world to further historic links in the British Commonwealth of Nations. The monument, built in 1945, is on Queens Wharf and it includes a bronze likeness of Paddy, a drinking fountain and drinking bowls below for dogs. The north end of the bridge passes above the Victoria Embankment where the road joins the Strand and this end housed the southern portal of the Kingsway Tramway Subway until the late 1950s
30.
Garden Bridge
–
The Garden Bridge is a proposed pedestrian bridge over the River Thames in London, England. Consequent on an idea of Joanna Lumley, Thomas Heatherwick worked with Arup on a proposal by Transport for London for a new bridge across the Thames between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges, the proposed concrete, steel, cupronickel clad structure is intended to carry pedestrians. It will be located some 200m from Waterloo Bridge and 300m from Blackfriars Bridge, the project includes a commercial building, built on former green space at the southern end of the bridge. The bridge will be open from 6am to midnight, save for closures for preparation for and holding up to 12 events per year, to raise funds for the Bridge. A planning condition requires annual maintenance costs to be guaranteed by a third party, the maintenance costs are variously estimated at between £2m and £3. 5m, before allowing for repayment of loan capital and interest. In July 2016 preparatory work for the bridge was halted and the Garden Bridge Trust put contractors on standby whilst they cleared outstanding issues such as securing land rights. In September 2016 the Mayor of London announced a review by Margaret Hodge of the government’s procurement processes in relation to the bridge project. In January 2017, the accounts of the Garden Bridge Trust stated that it was not a going concern, in February 2017 the Charity Commission found the financial management of the trust to be satisfactory, albeit with criticisms as to the trustees approach. The company was incorporated on 30 October 2013 under reference 08755461, lord Davies of Abersoch is chairman of the trust and a director of the limited company. The bridge will be 366 metres long and 30 metres across at its widest point and it will run from the roof of Temple station at the foot of Arundel Street on the north bank to a new building on Queens Walk next to the ITV building on the South Bank. The bridge will feature trees and shrubs, hedging plants and climbers, perennials, ferns and grasses, the bridge will be planted with some 270 immature trees. In order to limit the wind loading on the structure the trees would be maintained so that they do not exceed a height of 15m at the bridge piers. Dan Pearson has been appointed as landscape designer, in November 2014, it was claimed that the bridge would be off limits to groups of eight or more people and to cyclists. The Garden Bridge Trust since stated that groups of eight or more would not be banned and cyclists would be allowed to use the bridge if they dismount and push their cycles. Further, the charity proposes to rent the rooftop of the bridges South Bank landing podium for commercial purposes on every weekend between May and October, nine bridges already span the two miles between Westminster Bridge and London Bridge, seven of which can be crossed by foot. Projections of visitor numbers suggest that the bridge would add another 3.5 million visitors a year, in 2014, critics of the project began campaigning to have it brought under judicial review or another appeal process through the secretary of state. The bridges private owners claim that conditions are similar to those of the Royal Parks, by August 2016, the proposed cost of the bridge had risen to £185 million, from the original estimate of £60m. It was then agreed in November 2015 that £20m of TfL funds would be repaid over a period of 50 years as a loan, further, the City of Westminster granted planning permission conditionally upon provision of a guarantee of maintenance costs
31.
Blackfriars Bridge
–
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is near the Inns of Court and Temple Church, the south end is near the Tate Modern art gallery and the Oxo Tower. The first fixed crossing at Blackfriars was a 995 feet long toll bridge designed in an Italianate style by Robert Mylne, beating designs by John Gwynn and George Dance, it took nine years to build, opening to the public in 1769. It was the bridge across the Thames in the then built-up area of London, supplementing the ancient London Bridge, which dated from several centuries earlier. It was later made toll free, the Fleet can be seen discharging into the Thames at its north side. This created the junction at St Georges Circus between Westminster Bridge Road, Borough Road and the later named Blackfriars Road which crossed the largely open parish of Christchurch Surrey, the continuation to the south at the major junction at Elephant and Castle is therefore named London Road. Although it was built of Portland stone the workmanship was very faulty and this is the present bridge which in 1869 was opened by Queen Victoria. The present bridge is 923 feet long, consisting of five wrought iron arches built to a design by Joseph Cubitt, Cubitt also designed the adjacent rail bridge and it was a condition that the spans and piers of the two bridges be aligned. It was built by P. A. Thom & Co, like its predecessor it is owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. Like London Bridge the full length and its end is within the Citys borders. Due to the volume of traffic over the bridge, it was widened between 1907–10, from 70 feet to its present 105 feet. In 2005, five suspected members of the Mafia were tried in a Rome court for Calvis murder, on the piers of the bridge are stone carvings of water birds by sculptor John Birnie Philip. On the East side, the carvings show marine life and seabirds, on the north side of the bridge is a statue of Queen Victoria, to whom the bridge was dedicated. The ends of the bridge are shaped like a pulpit in a reference to Black Friars, Blackfriars Bridge station continued as a goods stop until 1964 when it was completely demolished, and much of it redeveloped into offices. The River Fleet empties into the Thames under the end of Blackfriars Bridge. The structure was given Grade II listed status in 1972, in 1774 the new bridge was mentioned in a popular song in Charles Dibdins opera The Waterman, referring to the boatmen who used to carry fashionable folks to Vauxhall Gardens and Ranelagh Gardens. And did you not hear of the jolly young waterman, Who at Blackfriars Bridge used for to ply, and he feathered his oars with such skill and dexterity, Winning each heart and delighting each eye. The name was given to one of the Bailey Bridges over the Rhine River in 1945, in Neil Gaimans Neverwhere, Blackfriars Bridge was named as the home of an unknown order of monks who held the key to an angelic prison
32.
Blackfriars Railway Bridge
–
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, 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 insignia, preserved and restored on the south side. Following the formation of the Southern Railway in 1924, inter-city and continental services were concentrated on Waterloo, for this reason, the use of the original bridge gradually declined. The second bridge, built further downstream, was originally called St Pauls Railway Bridge. It was designed by John Wolfe-Barry and Henry Marc Brunel and is made of wrought iron and it was built by Lucas & Aird. When St Pauls railway station changed its name to Blackfriars in 1937 the name of the bridge was changed as well. At the southern end of the bridge was Blackfriars Bridge railway station opened in 1864 before closing to passengers in 1885 following the opening of what is today the main Blackfriars station. Blackfriars Bridge railway station continued as a stop until 1964 when it was completely demolished. As part of the Thameslink Programme, the platforms at Blackfriars station have been extended across the Thames, the project is designed by Will Alsop and built by Balfour Beatty. The work also includes the installation of a covered with photovoltiac solar panels. It is the largest of three solar bridges in the world. Other green improvements include sun pipes and systems to collect rain water, Blackfriars Railway Bridge at Structurae Blackfriars Railway Bridge at Structurae
33.
Millennium Bridge, London
–
The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, linking Bankside with the City of London. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge and it is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. Construction began in 1998, and it opened in June 2000. Londoners nicknamed the bridge the Wobbly Bridge after pedestrians felt unexpected swaying motion, the bridge was closed later on opening day, and after two days of limited access, it was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the motion. The southern end of the bridge is near the Globe theatre, the Bankside Gallery, the bridge alignment is such that a clear view of St Pauls south façade is presented from across the river, framed by the bridge supports. The design of the bridge was the subject of a competition organised in 1996 by Southwark council, the winning entry was an innovative blade of light effort from Arup Group, Foster and Partners, and Sir Anthony Caro. Due to height restrictions, and to improve the view, the suspension design had the supporting cables below the deck level. The bridge has two piers and is made of three main sections of 81 m,144 m, and 108 m with a total structure length of 325 m. The eight suspension cables are tensioned to pull with a force of 2,000 tons against the set into each bank – enough to support a working load of 5,000 people on the bridge at one time. Ordinarily, bridges across the River Thames require an Act of Parliament, for this bridge, that was avoided by the Port of London Authority granting a licence for the structure obtaining planning permissions from the City of London and London Borough of Southwark. Construction began in late 1998 and the works were started on 28 April 1999 by Monberg & Thorsen. The bridge was completed at a cost of £18. 2M, primarily paid for by the Millennium Commission and it opened on 10 June 2000. Unexpected lateral vibration caused the bridge to be closed on 12 June 2000 for modifications, attempts were made to limit the number of people crossing the bridge. This led to long queues but was ineffective to dampen the vibrations, the tendency of a suspension bridge to sway when troops march over it in step was well known, which is why troops are required to break step when crossing such a bridge. The bridge was closed on 18 January 2007, during the Kyrill storm due to strong winds. The bridges movements were caused by a positive feedback phenomenon, known as synchronous lateral excitation, on the day of opening, the bridge was crossed by 90,000 people, with up to 2,000 on the bridge at any one time. Resonant vibrational modes due to vertical loads and wind loads are well understood in bridge design, the crucial point is that when the bridge lurches to one side, the pedestrians must adjust to keep from falling over, and they all do this at exactly the same time. Hence, the situation is similar to marching in lockstep
34.
Southwark Bridge
–
Southwark Bridge is an arch bridge in London, England, for traffic linking the district of Southwark and the City across the River Thames. It has the lowest traffic utilisation of any bridge in central London, a previous bridge, designed by John Rennie, opened on the site in 1819 and was originally known as Queen Street Bridge, as shown on the 1818 John Snow Map of London. The bridge consisted of three large cast-iron spans supported by granite piers, the bridge was notable for having the longest cast iron span,240 feet, ever made. A new bridge on the site was designed by Ernest George and it was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. and opened in 1921. The bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation, the current bridge was given Grade II listed structure status in 1995. The south end is near the Tate Modern, the Clink Prison Museum, the Globe Theatre, below the bridge on the south side are some old steps, which were once used by Thames watermen as a place to moor their boats and wait for customers. Below the bridge on the side is a pedestrian tunnel, part of the Queens Walk Embankment. Southwark Bridge appears in films, including Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The cream painted houses on the side of the bridge, Anchor Terrace. In the 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins, the Banks family mistakenly think that George W. Banks has committed suicide by jumping off the bridge after he is fired from his job at the bank, Southwark Bridge at Structurae Southwark Bridge at Structurae
35.
Cannon Street station
–
Cannon Street Railway Bridge is a bridge in central London, crossing the River Thames. Downstream, the bridge is London Bridge, and upstream Southwark Bridge. It carries trains over the river to Cannon Street station on the north bank and it was originally named Alexandra Bridge after Alexandra of Denmark who was the wife of the future King Edward VII. The bridge was designed by John Hawkshaw and John Wolfe-Barry for the South Eastern Railway and it was opened in 1866 after three years of construction. In its original form, it carried the railway over the Thames on five spans standing on cast-iron Doric pillars and it was the scene of the Marchioness disaster in 1989. Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide Cannon Street Railway Bridge at Structurae
36.
London Bridge
–
London Bridge refers to several historical bridges that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and this replaced a 19th-century stone-arched bridge, which in turn superseded a 600-year-old medieval structure. This was preceded by a succession of bridges, the first built by the Roman founders of London. The current bridge stands at the end of the Pool of London but is positioned 30 metres upstream from previous alignments. The traditional ends of the bridge were marked by St Magnus-the-Martyr on the northern bank. Until Putney Bridge opened in 1729, London Bridge was the only road-crossing of the Thames downstream of Kingston-upon-Thames and its importance has been the subject of popular culture throughout the ages such as in the nursery rhyme London Bridge Is Falling Down and its inclusion within art and literature. The modern bridge is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates and it carries the A3 road, which is maintained by the Greater London Authority. The crossing also delineates an area along the bank of the River Thames. The abutments of modern London Bridge rest several metres above natural embankments of gravel, sand, between the embankments, the River Thames could have been crossed by ford when the tide was low, or ferry when it was high. There is archaeological evidence for scattered Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement nearby, two ancient fords were in use a few miles upstream, beyond the rivers upper tidal reach. They were aligned with the course of Watling Street and led into the heartlands of the Catuvellauni, some time before Claudius conquest of AD43, power shifted to the Trinovantes, who held the region northeast of the Thames estuary from a capital at Camulodunum. Claudius imposed a major colonia on Camulodunum, and made it the city of the new Roman province of Britannia. The first London Bridge was built by the Roman military as part of their road-building programme, around AD55, the temporary bridge over the Thames was replaced by a permanent timber piled bridge, maintained and guarded by a small garrison. On the relatively high, dry ground at the end of the bridge, a small, opportunistic trading and shipping settlement took root. A smaller settlement developed at the end of the bridge. The bridge was destroyed along with the town in the Boudican revolt. Just downstream of the bridge were substantial quays and depots, convenient to seagoing trade between Britain and the rest of the Roman Empire, with the end of Roman rule in Britain in the early 5th century, Londinium was gradually abandoned and the bridge fell into disrepair. In the Saxon period, the became a boundary between the emergent, mutually hostile kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex
37.
Tower Bridge
–
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London built in 1886–1894. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become a symbol of London. Tower Bridge is one of five London bridges now owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates and it is the only one of the Trusts bridges not to connect the City of London directly to the Southwark bank, as its northern landfall is in Tower Hamlets. The vertical components of the forces in the sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower, before its restoration in the 2010s, the bridges colour scheme dated from 1977, when it was painted red, white and blue for Queen Elizabeth IIs Silver Jubilee. Its colours were restored to blue and white. The nearest National Rail stations are at Fenchurch Street and London Bridge, in the second half of the 19th century, an advertisement in the East End of London led to a hiring for a new river crossing downstream of London Bridge. A Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1877, chaired by Sir Albert Joseph Altman and it opened the design of the crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs were submitted, including one from civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, an Act of Parliament was pasesd in 1885 authorising the bridges construction. It specified the opening span must give a clear width of 61 metres, construction had to be in a Gothic style. Barry designed a bridge with two bridge towers built on piers. The central span was split into two equal bascules or leaves, which could be raised to allow traffic to pass. The two side-spans were suspension bridges, with the suspension rods anchored both at the abutments and through rods contained within the bridges upper walkways, E W Crutwell was the resident engineer for the construction. Two massive piers, containing over 70,000 tons of concrete, were sunk into the riverbed to support the construction, over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the towers and walkways. This was then clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone, both to protect the steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance. Jones died in 1886 and George D. Stevenson took over the project, the total cost of construction was £1,184,000. The bridge was opened on 30 June 1894 by The Prince of Wales. The bridge connected Iron Gate, on the bank of the river, with Horselydown Lane, on the south – now known as Tower Bridge Approach and Tower Bridge Road
