Blackfriars Bridge — Attraction in London

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 railway's 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, and St Paul's Station became a local and suburban stop. For this reason, the use of the original bridge gradually declined. It eventually became too weak to support modern trains, and was therefore removed in 1985 – all that remains is a series of columns crossing the Thames and the southern abutment, which is a Grade II listed structure. The second bridge, built slightly further downstream (to the east), was originally called St Paul's Railway Bridge and opened in 1886. It was designed by John Wolfe-Barry and Henry Marc Brunel and is made of wrought iron. It was built by Lucas & Aird. When St Paul's 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 which 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 goods stop until 1964 when it was completely demolished, and much of it redeveloped into offices. As part of the Thameslink Programme, the platforms at Blackfriars station have been extended across the Thames and partially supported by the 1864 bridge piers. The project is designed by Will Alsop and built by Balfour Beatty. The work also includes the installation of a roof covered with photovoltaic solar panels. It is the largest of only three solar bridges in the world (the others being Kennedy Bridge in Bonn, Germany, and Kurilpa Bridge in Australia). Other green improvements include sun pipes and systems to...

Blackfriars Bridge ( Road/ foot traffic bridge) carries the A201 connecting the City on the North Bank and south bank respectively. Adjacent and parallel in alignment is Blackfriars railway bridge; both bridges lie between Waterloo bridge (west) and the recently new Millennium footbridge to the east. Blackfriars Road bridge first built / opened in 1769, but the current bridge of today was opend by Queen Victoria in 1869. The grade 2 listed structure has a length of 923ft ( 281m) and width of 105ft ( 32m) to the design of Joseph Cubitt. Joseph Cubitt also designed the first rail bridge in 1864 ( now demolished) to serve the London, Chatham & Dover railway ( now known today as Network South Eastern). The second rail bridge constructed of wrought iron, opened in 1886 by John Wolfe Barry and Henry Marc Brunel. Massive abutments at each end carry the rail insignia of the London, Chatham & Dover Railway. The remains of the old rail bridge still exist today with the red pillar supports. Today's rail bridge connects Blackfriars rail station (Thameslink) and was designed by Will Alsop and built by Balfour Beatty. The solar constructed roof coverings has given this rail bridge the status of only three solar constructed bridges in the world. This bridge is one of my favourite Thames crossings, but lacks a full view only east of the river. However, it makes a pleasant walk route to both North and South banks with splendid views west upstream- particularly at 🌆 sunset! Alfred Hitchcock film 🎥 'SABOTAGE ' (1936) was filmed on...

The Blackfriars Bridge is a Grade II historic structure and one of handful of bridges that link The City on the north side of the River Thames to Southwark.

This bridge was originally built between 1760-1769 to become the third bridge to span the River Thames and relieve pressure on the aged and overused London Bridge during that time.

The bridge was originally called the William Pitt Bridge but has always carried it's informal name obtained from its once close proximity to the Blackfriars Monastery, which stood nearby the bridge on The City side of the river at the time of the bridges origin.

By 1869 a new bridge was constructed by Joseph Cubitt, this one being made of five iron arches, replacing the old bridge, which featured nine semi-elliptical stone arches. The present bridge was widened between 1907-1910 to cope with the volume of traffic.

You can walk Blackfriars Bridge if needing to cross the Thames in this area of the city. It is one of several nearby that you can use. These include Southwark Bridge, Millennium Bridge, London Bridge as well as Towers Bridge - a bit further east...