Blackfriars Bridge

Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge seen from Waterloo Bridge
Coordinates	51°30′35″N 0°06′16″W / 51.5097°N 0.1044°W / 51.5097; -0.1044Coordinates: 51°30′35″N 0°06′16″W / 51.5097°N 0.1044°W / 51.5097; -0.1044
OS grid reference	TQ315807
Carries	A201 road
Crosses	River Thames
Locale	London, England
Maintained by	Bridge House Estates, City of London Corporation
Heritage status	Grade II listed structure
Preceded by	Waterloo Bridge
Followed by	Blackfriars Railway Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Arch Bridge
Total length	923 feet (281 m)
Width	105 feet (32 m)
Number of spans	5
History
Designer	Joseph Cubitt
Constructed by	P. A. Thom & Co.
Opened	1869
Statistics
Toll	No
Blackfriars Bridge Location in Greater London

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, along with Blackfriars station. The south end is near the Tate Modern art gallery and the Oxo Tower.

The first fixed crossing at Blackfriars was a 995 feet (303 m) long toll bridge designed in an Italianate style by Robert Mylne and constructed with nine semi-elliptical arches of Portland stone. Beating designs by John Gwynn and George Dance, it took nine years to build, opening to the public in 1769. It was the third bridge across the Thames in the then built-up area of London, supplementing the ancient London Bridge, which dated from several centuries earlier, and Westminster Bridge. It was originally named "William Pitt Bridge" (after the Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder) as a dedication, but its informal name relating to the precinct within the City named after the Blackfriars Monastery, a Dominican priory which once stood nearby, was generally adopted. It was later made toll free.

The City of London Corporation was responsible for promoting it and the location between the other two bridges was chosen because it was realised that the disused wharfage of the lower River Fleet from the Thames to what became Ludgate Circus would allow access into the north bank without unduly disrupting the neighbourhood; hence its name of New Bridge Street. The Fleet can be seen discharging into the Thames at its north side. By taking an access road from its southern landing to a junction with the routes created to simplify passage between those bridges to its east and west to the south it would also add to those improvements. This created the junction at St George's 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.