Obchodní Akademie, Šamánkova 8, 460 01, Liberec 1
Praktická odborná část maturitní zkoušky
z anglického jazyka
London Bridges
Autor práce: Petra Kroužková
Obor: ekonomické lyceum
Třída: 4. B
Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Vladěna Petržilková
Školní rok: 2004 / 2005
Termín odevzdání: 18. 3. 2004
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Why I have chosen this topic, what I expect from my
work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
1.2. Brief introducing of my work. . . . . . . . . .
5
2. MAIN PART OF THE WORK
2.1. List of Bridges in London . . . . . . . . . . .
6
2.2. History of bridges in London – since the first
Bridge was built to the present . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
2.3. Description of London Bridge. . . . . . . . . .
10
2.4. Description of Tower Bridge . . . . . . . . . .
18
2.5. Description of Millennium Bridge. . . . . . . .
21
3. PUBLIC SURVEY
3.1. Public survey in English. . . . . . . . . . . .
23
3.2. Results of public survey. . . . . . . . . . . .
24
4. RESULT OF MY WORK
4.1. My own impressions of the visit in London . . .
26
4.2. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
5. RESUMÉ
5.1. Résumé in Czech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
5.2. Résumé in English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
6. ENCLOSURE
6.1. Public survey in Czech. . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
6.2. Pictures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
6.3. Graphs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
7. SOURCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
1. INTRODUCTION
1. 1. Why I have chosen this topic, what I expect from my
work
I
have
chosen
this
topic,
because
I
think
it
is
an
interesting way how to get knowledge about such a city like
London. London is situated on the River Thames, which is
sometimes called “flowing history” and now, in 21st century,
many bridges decorate it.
Since the first settlement was established, people started
to think about possibilities how to get over the river. The
river
divides
the
city
into
two
parts
–
Southern
and
Northern and what the river divides, the bridges connect.
Without the river Thames, London would probably never been
established. The Thames has always been important for water
transport
and
even
today,
except
ships
overcrowded
by
tourists, there are sailing ships with huge cargos. Without
the
Thames
there
would
not
be
the
port,
which
was
the
biggest and most important in 19th century, even when London
is not situated at the seacoast.
I expect that my work will be an interesting look at the
history of London and it will bring much information not
just about bridges, but about this city, too. I hope that it
will be interesting work for me, because I would like to
learn something about London and this is a really good way.
- 3 -
Then I plan to find out, what my friends and students in my
age know about this topic.
- 4 -
1. 2. Brief introduction of my work
I will tell you something about the history of ways to get
over the river Thames in London, and then I will make a more
detailed description of three bridges – London Bridge, Tower
Bridge
and
Millennium
Bridge.
I
have
chosen
these
three
bridges, because they are the most interesting for me.
London Bridge is the first bridge that was ever built and it
has a long history. It was many times rebuilt and replaced
by new bridges. The old London Bridge is now in Lake Havasu
in Texas.
Tower Bridge is the best-known bridge in London. It is a
bascule bridge, which is raised in the middle to let tall
ships to pass up and down the river. It has the original
mechanism with hydraulic equipment using steam to drive big
motors inside the bridge.
Millennium
Bridge
is
the
last
bridge
that
was
built
in
London and it is a pedestrian bridge. It was built to the
celebration of new millennium and opened by The Queen, but
two days after it’s opening it was closed, because of the
swaying.
A part of my work is a public survey, from which you will
learn, what students in Liberec aged from 16 to 20 years
know about London bridges.
- 5 -
2. MAIN PART OF THE WORK
2. 1. List of London Bridges
Albert Bridge
Lambeth Bridge
Barnes Bridge
London Bridge
Battersea Bridge
Millennium Bridge
Battersea Railway Bridge
Putney Bridge
Blackfriars Railway Bridge
Putney Railway Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge
Richmond Bridge
Cannon Street Railway Bridge
Richmond Railway Bridge
Chelsea Bridge
Southwark Bridge
Chiswick Bridge
Tower Bridge
Grosvenor Railway Bridge
Twickham Bridge
Hammersmith Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge
Hungerford Railway & Foot Bridge
Wandsworth Bridge
Kew Bridge
Westminster Bridge
Kew Railway Bridge
Waterloo Bridge
- 6 -
2. 2. History of bridges in London – since the first bridge
was built to the present
The first bridge in history of London was built about in the
1st century AD. It was the first London Bridge in the Roman
settlement
Londonium.
After
it
there
were
many
wooden
bridges built and the first medieval stone London Bridge was
built in 1209. Built by Peter de Colenchurch the bridge
lasted for 622 years and until 1750 it was the only bridge
in London.
The foundation stone of Westminster Bridge was laid in 1739
and the bridge was opened in 1750. The construction of Kew
Bridge designed by John Barnard started in 1758 and it was
opened
in
1759.
In
1760
started
the
construction
of
Blackfriars Bridge designed by Robert Mylne. The name of
this bridge should have been Pitt Bridge after the prime
minister in that time, but in 1769 when the bridge was
opened Pitt did not have this office yet, so the bridge was
renamed. Battersea Bridge was constructed during 1771 and
1772. The construction of Richmond Bridge designed by James
Paine and Kenton Couse was in progress since 1774 to 1777.
Kew Bridge was dismantled and new Kew Bridge designed by
James Paine was opened in 1789. The construction of Strand
Bridge (in 1816 renamed to Waterloo Bridge) started in the
same year it was opened in 1817. In 1816 was opened Vauxhall
Bridge, it was demolished in 1904 and the new bridge was
opened in 1906.
Southwark Bridge was opened three years
later, in 1819, it was demolished during 1913 to 1921 and
the new bridge was constructed later. John Rennie’s design
- 7 -
of new London Bridge was approved in 1823 and it was opened
in
1831.
Hammersmith
Bridge
was
opened
in
1827,
it
was
demolished and the new bridge was built in 1887. In 1831 old
London
Bridge
faster,
so
it
Bridge,
which
was
demolished
undermined
became
a
and
the
foundations
danger
and
river
of
was
the
became
much
Westminster
demolished
too.
Hungerford Railway and Pedestrian Bridge was opened in 1845.
Richmond Railway Bridge (originally Richmond, Windsor and
Staines Bridge), designed by Joseph Locke, was opened in
1848, but it collapsed in 1891. Barnes Bridge, designed by
Joseph Locke and Thomas Brassey, was opened in 1849. The
construction of Chelsea Bridge (at first called Victoria
Bridge), designed by Thomas Page, was in progress since 1851
to 1858. Grosvenor Bridge (also known as Victoria Bridge)
was opened in 1858.
1860’s were the most eventful years for building of bridges
in London. Lambeth Bridge, designed by P. W. Barlow, was
opened in 1862, new Westminster Bridge was opened in the
same year. St Paul’s Bridge was constructed since 1862 to
1864, Blackfriars Bridge was built next to this twenty years
after. At least St Paul’s bridge became just a widening of
Blackfriars Bridge. Cannon Street Railway Bridge was opened
in 1866, Battersea Railway Bridge was opened in 1863, the
Albert
Bridge
started
to
be
constructed
in
1864.
New
Hungerford Railway and Pedestrian Bridge was opened in 1864.
It was the only bridge in London that combined railway and
pedestrian traffic.
- 8 -
The Albert Bridge and Wandsworth Bridge were both opened in
1873. In 1878 the design of Tower Bridge was made by Sir
Horace
Jones
and
Tower
Bridge
was
built
in
1894.
The
construction of Putney Railway Bridge started in 1880 and
the construction of Putney Bridge lasted since 1882 to 1886.
The third structure of Kew Bridge designed by John Wolf
Barry and C. A. Breton, was constructed in 1903. The bridge
became also new name - King Edward VII. Bridge, but it was
unpopular,
so
it
was
renamed
again
at
Kew
Bridge.
New
Richmond Railway Bridge was opened in 1908. The construction
of new Lambeth Bridge, designed by George Humphreys, started
in 1929 and the bridge was opened in 1932. Chiswick Bridge,
designed by Sir Herbert Baker, was opened one year later, in
1933. The demolition of Chelsea Bridge and the construction
of new one were in progress during 1935 – 1937. Richmond
Bridge was widened in 1939. Waterloo Bridge built by women
during the WWII was opened for pedestrians and for two lines
of traffic and in 1945 the completed bridge was opened. In
1967 started the demolishing of London Bridge and current
bridge
was
opened
in
1973.
Tower
Bridge’s
bascules
were
driven by steam until 1976, since that time, they are driven
by electricity and its bascules were replaced the same year.
Two new footbridges were built in the place where Hungerford
Bridge was in 2000. In 1996 started the competition to find
design of the new pedestrian bridge. The architect Foster
and partners, Anthony Caro and the engineers Ove Arup and
partners won this competition and they built the bridge to
celebrate the new millennium. The last, Millennium Bridge
for pedestrians was built in 2002.
- 9 -
2. 3. Description of London Bridge
In this part of my work I would like to describe the history
of the bridges that stood on the same place where is now
London
Bridge
and
I
would
like
to
make
more
detailed
description of three of these bridges with the name ‘London
Bridge’. The first is the medieval bridge built by Peter de
Colechurch,
the
most
important
and
longest
time
lasting
bridge. Then there was next bridge built by John Rennie that
was dismantled and sent to America and the last is current
bridge.
The first bridge ever was built near the place where now
stands the current London Bridge in the 1st century AD. It
was built by the Romans when London did not exist yet, the
name of the settlement was Londonium. The first record about
the
wooden
bridge
comes
from
the
Saxon
times.
The
next
record comes from 1014, when the Danes held London and they
were attacked by Vikings from Norway. The wooden bridge was
pulled down by the Vikings. There were over ten bridges with
the name ‘London Bridge’ since that time. These bridges were
never thought to be permanent, they were wooden and they
often burned down or felt down or were swept away by storms.
When there was no bridge, there were the ferries.
- 10 -
MEDIEVAL BRIDGE
Designed by:
Peter de Colechurch
Opened:
1209
Dismantled:
1831 - 1832
Width:
20 feet
Piers:
19
Arches:
20
This was the first
stone bridge built
in
London.
Peter
de Colechurch was
appointed to be a
builder, but he did not have any knowledge in this branch
and everyone could see it on the bridge. It was asymmetrical
and
none
two
piers
of
its
nineteen
were
identical,
nevertheless the bridge lasted for 622 years.
Henry II. levied a tax on wool products to help to pay for
the bridge. It had been built for 33 years during reign of
three monarchs – Henry II., Richard The Lionheart and John
The
Lackland.
Colechurch
probably
designed
every
pier
according to the number of material he had at the time.
Before the bridge was completed, some piers were already
destroyed,
so
they
had
to
be
repaired.
The
bridge
was
completed in 1209, it had 19 piers built from elm trees, oak
trees and stone. It was told to be the strangest bridge in
medieval times, but this bridge lasted for more than 600
years and it was not replaced because of some structural
- 11 -
defect, but because of the need of wider bridge and because
the wide piers blocked the river’s flow.
There was a chapel dedicated to the memory of St. Thomas
Becket on the ninth pier. It was a clever step from the St.
Mary
Colechurch,
because
every
pilgrim
travelling
to
Canterbury from the north of England crossed the river via
the bridge. The chapel was built in the 12th century and
rebuilt in 14th century. Peter de Colechurch died in 1205 and
he was buried in the crypt of the chapel. His bones were
found when the chapel was dismantled, and they were thrown
into
the
river.
This
happened
without
any
ceremonial
to
thank him that he built a bridge that was so important for
the history of London.
The waterwheels were installed under two north arches to
supply Londoners with the first piped Thames water in 1582.
Water-powered grain mills were installed under two south
arches in 1591.
Even when there was the bridge, there were some boatmen and
ferrymen, who were transporting people over the river and
some of them, who were brave enough, shot the bridge (so
called bridge-shooters). The Thames is a tidal river and the
upstream and downstream sites differed, so sometimes they
capsized when they went over the falls. Every year about 50
boatmen and ferrymen died in these falls under the London
Bridge.
- 12 -
People and merchants started to build big houses and shops
on the bridge in 1212.
In 13th century Henry III. gave London Bridge to his wife,
unpopular Queen Eleanor, as a present, but she spent all
money for the bridge on herself instead of spending it on
the bridge. People were angry and the old song ‘The London
Bridge is falling down’ became criticism on the Queen. The
bridge returned to the control of the City of London in
1281, but during the hard winter few piers had fallen into
the water and temporary timber piers had to be built on this
part of the bridge.
There were two towers on the bridge one in the south and one
in the north. The North tower became famous, because it was
the place, where heads of famous traitors were displayed on
the pikes. First record of this practice comes from the
beginning of 14th century, when the victims were William
Wallace and his rebels. The famous victim was also Thomas
More. This tower was dismantled in 1577, the display of
heads was moved to the South tower and this practice lasted
until 1678.
The bridge was attacked by Jack Cade and his rebels in 1450,
a lot of houses were burnt down, a lot of people were killed
or died in flames, but the rebellion was put down and Cade’s
head was placed on the tower.
- 13 -
The houses on the bridge caught the fire in 1633. It was the
biggest
disaster
in
the
history
of
bridges,
because
43
houses were burnt and about 3000 people died when the sparks
from one end of the bridge were taken by the wind to the
second site and the fire trapped the people, who came to
have a look at it. One of the gaps that were made by this
fire saved entirely southern half of the city from the Great
Fire of London in 1666.
Afterward the buildings were rebuilt, because living on the
bridge was really popular. Even when the residents drank the
same water in which they threw their sewage, it was a quite
healthy environment, because when there was the London’s
Great Plague in 1665, only two victims were residents of the
bridge.
The traffic on the bridge was very reduced by the houses and
shops, because it took a lot of place. The bridge was entire
bordered
by
buildings
in
1553,
some
even
with
cellars.
Houses were connected in upper floors by the walkways, so in
some parts of the bridge it looked like a tunnel.
London Bridge was the only way over the river until 1750
when the Westminster Bridge was built.
The houses were pulled down, the piers were enlarged and the
road on the bridge was widened in 1763. Some piers were
entirely
dismantled
and
replaced
by
others
to
improve
navigation on the river, but the effect was nearly opposite,
because the stream of the river became faster and it started
- 14 -
to scour the bottom of the river and it almost destroyed the
adjacent piers.
John Rennie started to build the new bridge 180 feet from
old London Bridge in 1824, so Londoners could see for some
time two London Bridges side-by-side on the river.
JOHN RENNIE’S BRIDGE
Designed by:
John Rennie (built by his son, also John)
Opened:
1831
Dismantled:
1962
Length:
928 feet
Width:
49 feet
Piers:
4
Arches:
5
In
1825
Rennie
the
John
convinced
House
of
Commons so it made
the decision that
his design is the
best to be built.
It
was
built
180
feet upstream from the medieval bridge. On the picture there
are
both,
the
old
and
the
new
bridge
side-by-side.
The
bridge was opened by King William and Queen Adelaide in
1831. John Rennie was knighted for this work. The old bridge
was dismantled after opening of the new one and the river
changed
its
behaviour.
It
became
- 15 -
faster
and
it
started
picking sand and gravel from the bottom of the river and
started scouring the piers of other bridges on the river.
Blackfriars Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge
had
to
be
replaced.
During
1902
–
1904
the
bridge
was
widened because of traffic. Rennie’s bridge was destroyed by
the river behaviour and by the modern traffic, too. The
piers were sinking and one side was 4 inches below the level
of the second site in 1924, so the bridge was dismantled,
but it was not its end.
The founder of The Lake Havasu City in the USA, Arizona, and
Chairman Robert McCulloch learned that the bridge is for
sale and he bought it for 2 460 000 dollars. The bridge was
sent to Lake Havasu in Arizona. Each peace was marked by
numbers to define the right position, but in fact it was
used just to cover a modern structure. The reconstruction
began in 1968 and the bridge was erected again in 1971.
When I was looking for the information about this bridge, I
found out, that McCulloch was mistaken and he thought that
he is buying more famous Tower Bridge.
CURRENT BRIDGE
Designed by:
John Mowlen & Co
Opened:
1973
The last bridge with
the
name
London
Bridge was erected on
the
- 16 -
same
spot
as
Rennie’s bridge. It was constructed by John Mowlen & Co and
during the construction it was possible to let the traffic
on the bridge continue. This is the only hollow bridge on
the river Thames. The bridge has heated footpaths for the
winter.
It was opened by Her Majesty Elizabeth II. in 1973 with the
celebrations and the exhibition about the long history of
London Bridge. This bridge continues the long history of the
bridges at that point, where so many bridges have crossed
the river yet.
- 17 -
2. 4. Description of Tower Bridge
Designed by:
Horace Jones
Opened:
1894
Width:
35 feet
Length:
800 feet
Weight from foundations:
293 feet
Piers:
2
Tower Bridge is a characteristic sign of
London. It is built in Gothic style and
it is called after its two towers. It is
the last bridge in London to the east
before
its
mouth
to
the
sea.
This
Victorian bridge is the only movable bridge on the river
Thames and it is the most famous example of a bascule bridge
in the world. The Tower Bridge is bascule bridge, it means
that there are two leaves (bascules) which can raise to let
tall ships pass up and down the river. In the history it
used to be raised about fifty times a day, because there was
a busy port in this part of the city, but nowadays it is
raised just about five times a week (but in this point the
sources are not very similar). The Tower Bridge “works” on
the
river
Thames
for
more
than
100
years
without
any
mistake.
In the end of 19th century there was a need of new crossing
over the river to the east from London Bridge, because the
city grew and there were big traffic jams on London Bridge.
Since 1874 people started to write petitions, because they
- 18 -
wanted a new bridge via the river or widening of London
Bridge. The corporation of London was responsible for this
part
of
the
city,
so
it
started
to
think
about
some
possibility how to built a new bridge without disturbing
traffic
on
the
river.
Finally
they
opened
the
public
competition to find the design of the new bridge.
There
were
about
50
designs
of
low-level
bridges
with
opening of various kinds, high-level bridges with lifts at
both sides and also line built at the bottom of the river or
just simple ferry boats, but finally the design by Horace
Jones, the bascule bridge, won this competition. It was also
important that the design of the bridge should be similar to
its surroundings (Tower of London).
Horace
Jones
(who
was
knighted
for
his
design
of
Tower
Bridge) died in 1885 and John Wolf Barry continued his work.
The building of Tower Bridge lasted for eight years (1886 –
1894) and there were 423 people working on its construction.
Two
piers
were
sunk
into
the
riverbed
and
the
steel
framework was built. Then there were given Cornish granite
and Portland stone over the framework to protect it from
corrosion and to give the bridge a better look. This is the
reason why many people think that Tower Bridge is a stone
bridge, but it is a steel bridge.
The bridge has two leaves and each leaf is 160 feet long and
its weight is about 1200 tons. It is able to open and close
them in 5 minutes. When it was built the leaves were driven
by steam, but since 1976 they are driven by electricity. You
- 19 -
can still see the original mechanism driven by steel in one
tower. In each tower there is situated a hydraulic lift
which goes to the top of the tower to high-level walkways.
The public was at first quite appalled with Tower Bridge and
the magazine The Builder called it “the most monstrous and
preposterous architectural sham that we have ever known”1),
but after it was painted in 1977, it became more popular.
Tower Bridge has a very interesting history. For example in
1912
Frank
McClean
had
to
fly
between
the
high-level
walkways and the leaves, because there was some breakdown on
his plane and in 1952 London bus had to jump from one leave
to the other, because the bridge started to raise when the
bus was still crossing it.
There are also some important facts about the bridge. In
1910 there were built two walkways for pedestrians between
the towers, but they were closed soon, because of lack of
using. People preferred to wait and watch the leaves rising.
One source even says that these walkways were closed because
of big number of suicides. In 1977 some parts of the bridge
were painted with blue, white and red colours. Tower Bridge
Experience that is telling about the history of the bridge
was opened in 1993.
1)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/tower.h
tml
- 20 -
2. 5. Description of Millennium Bridge
Designed by:
The architect Sir Norman Foster with the
sculptor Sir Anthony Caro and the engineers
Ove Arup
Opened:
10th June 2000
Closed:
12th June 2000
Reopened:
27th February 2002
Length:
330 m
Width:
4 m
The bridge consists of two piers and
eight cables, four on each side. It is
4 metres wide and 330 metres long, it
is
supported
connected
with
by
the
structural
cables
in
arms,
eight
metres intervals. The lightening is in
the
structure
and
is
activated
by
photocells at dusk.
The
bridge
is
situated
between
Southwark
Bridge
and
Blackfriars Bridge. It is the last bridge that was built in
London and the first bridge designed only for pedestrians.
The bridge is free of traffic and accessible to everyone.
Even when it is the last bridge to be built, it has the most
nicknames. It is called “blade of light”, “ribbon of steel”
or “the wobbly bridge”. It links the St Paul’s Cathedral
with
The
New
Tate
Modern
Art
Gallery.
It
was
built
to
celebrate the new millennium, but it’s opening was a big
fiasco.
- 21 -
It
is
designed
by
the
winners
of
the
competition,
the
architect Sir Norman Foster with the sculptor Sir Anthony
Caro and the engineers Ove Arup.
The bridge was opened with a big glory on 10th June 2000 by
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. and it became one of the
most demanded attraction in London. During three days after
it was opened a huge number of people crossed the bridge and
it started to wobble. The bridge was closed. The engineers
decided to use damping system to stop the wobbling of the
bridge. There are dampers situated under the deck and around
the
piers.
The
bridge
was
re-opened
February 2002.
- 22 -
to
the
public
in
3. PUBLIC SURVEY
3. 1. Public survey in English
Have you ever been to London? YES
Which river flows through London?
Which bridge did you like the most?
Have
you
ever
read
(seen
on
the
TV...)
something
about
something
about
bridges in London?
How old are you?
Have you ever been to London? NO
Which river flows through London?
Do you know any bridge in London? Which one?
Have
you
ever
read
(seen
on
the
bridges in London?
How old are you?
- 23 -
TV...)
3. 2. Results of public survey
I made this public survey among people from my school, my
friends and other students on secondary schools, so they
were aged from 16 to 20 years. I have divided the questions
of the public inquiry into two parts - for people who were
in London and for those who were not. From 60 asked students
37% have been in London and 63% have not.
I
was
interested,
whether
they
know,
which
river
flows
through London and whether they have ever read or seen on TV
something connected with this topic. From those who were in
London I wanted to know which bridge did they like most.
From those who were not in London I wanted to know whether
they know some bridge. Some answers surprised me a lot.
All of asked students who were in London know which river
flows through London. From students, who were not in London
87 % know that London is situated on the Thames and 13 %
think that it is some other river.
18 % of asked students who were in London have read or seen
on TV something connected with this topic and 82 % have not.
23 % asked students who were not in London have read or seen
on TV something connected with this topic and 77 % have not.
This was quite surprising for me, because I have never seen
on TV anything connected with this topic and I have read
information about it just when I was interested in it and I
found something by myself.
- 24 -
81 % of the students who were in London liked Tower Bridge
the most, the rest liked London Bridge (5 %), Westminster
Bridge (5 %) or none (9 %). Students who were not in London
know just Tower Bridge (66 %) or London Bridge (29 %). 5 %
of them know none bridge. I was surprised that there were
people who were to London and did not remember even one
bridge in London and also that there were more people among
those who were to London who did not know any bridge, than
among the people who have never been there. Some answers
were also quite funny, for example there were people who
thought
that
Cambridge
or
Trafalgar
Square
are
London
Bridges.
From these answers I made conclusion that people who I have
asked are not very interested in this topic and it is not
very
popular
for
them.
I
did
not
expected
this
result,
because I think that travelling is nowadays a very popular
activity for young people, but it seems they do not want to
learn something new or maybe just nobody is interested in
the bridges.
- 25 -
4. RESULT OF MY WORK
4. 1. My own impression of visit to London
I have been in London just once in my life. During the day
that I spent in London, I crossed the river about four
times, but I remember just two bridges.
When I came to spend a day in London, we started on parkingsite just by Tower Bridge. The bridge is much bigger, than I
expected. The street on the bridge is bright and on both
sides are footpaths and you can go on footbridge up between
the towers, too. It must be an amazing experience to watch
the huge bascules rising, but nowadays it is raised just
rarely, so unfortunately we have not seen it.
Then
we
crossed
Westminster
Bridge.
From
this
bridge
we
enjoyed a beautiful view of Houses of Parliament.
In the end of the day, when we came back to the parking-site
by Tower Bridge, we enjoyed the view of lit Tower Bridge at
night, so the best impression of my visit in London is
definitely Tower Bridge.
- 26 -
4. 2.
Conclusion
Bridges have been built in London since the 1st century AD
and nowadays there are almost thirty bridges. The bridges
were many times in history rebuilt or replaced and there has
never been a bridge just as the historical beauty, like for
example our Charles Bridge in Prague. All bridges have been
always used and as soon as they were destroyed by traffic
they
were
rebuilt
or
entirely
replaced.
The
first
stone
bridge was opened in 1209. It is about at the same time as
in other big cities in Europe, for example the first bridge
in
Prague
was
opened
in
1182
and
the
first
bridge
in
Florence in 1176.
London grew fast, there were more and more people and there
was a need of new bridges during 18th and 19th centuries. The
most eventful years for building of bridges were 1860’s.
During this period seven bridges were built.
I think that the most important event in the history of
bridges in London was the dismantling of the medieval London
Bridge. This bridge existed for 622 years, because it had a
strong structure and a lot of bright piers. But because of
the piers it impeded the flow of the river and when the
bridge was dismantled, the behaviour of the river changed a
lot. It became faster and it started to scour the bottom of
the river and also the piers of other bridges. Blackfriars,
Waterloo and Westminster Bridge had to be replaced after the
dismantling of this bridge.
- 27 -
I
think
that
important,
this
because
medieval
it
was
London
the
Bridge
longest
was
lasting
the
most
bridge
in
London. I was surprised when I found out that when Peter de
Colechurche’s
bones
were
found
in
the
crypt
of
the
old
chapel on London Bridge, they were thrown into the river,
because Peter de Colechurch was a man who built a bridge
which was so important for the history of London and there
was no ceremonial to thank him for that.
In
the
introduction
I
wondered
if
this
work
will
be
interesting and if I will learn something during writing it.
Now, in the end of my work I can say that I am really glad
that I have chosen this topic. The work was interesting, I
learned a lot of new things about London and I was amused by
it. I was surprised that I could not find many information
about the topic in books and most of them are from the
Internet, so sometimes they differed, but I hope that all
information in my work are right.
Also, in the introduction I wrote that I look forward to the
results of the public survey, because I asked people at my
age and I was interested what do they know about the London
bridges. I was quite surprised by some answers and I was
also
surprised
that
it
seems
that
interested in this topic.
- 28 -
young
people
are
not
5. RÉSUMÉ
5. 1. Résumé in Czech
Moje
práce
se
zabývá
londýnskými
mosty.
Snažila
jsem
se
vyhledat všechny mosty, které byly v Londýně postaveny a
popsat
jejich
stručnou
historii,
a
to
od
prvního
London
Bridge, který byl postaven v prvním století př. n. l., až do
roku
2000,
kdy
byl
postaven
poslední,
Millenium
Bridge.
Vybrala jsem si tři mosty, které jsem popsala podrobněji –
Tower Bridge, Millenium Bridge a London Bridge. Mezi mosty,
které stály na stejném místě jako současný London Bridge se
podle
mého
názoru
řadí
i
nejdůležitější
ze
všech
mostů,
které kdy v Londýně stály, a to středověký London Bridge.
Tower Bridge jsem si vybrala protože je to nejznámější most
v Londýně. Millenium Bridge je poslední most, který byl v
Londýně postaven a je určen pouze chodcům. Částí mojí práce
je také můj vlastní zážitek z návštěvy Londýna a anketa, ze
které
se
dozvíte,
co
o
tomto
libereckých středních škol.
- 29 -
tématu
vědí
studenti
5. 2. Résumé in English
My work is about London bridges. I tried to find all bridges
on the river Thames in London, then I wrote the history of
London Bridges, which starts in the 1st century AD, when the
first, London Bridge was built, and ends in 2000, when the
last, Millennium Bridge was built. I wrote more detailed
description of three bridges that were the most interesting
for me. London Bridge was the first bridge in London, and I
think that one of these bridges that stood at the place
where
the
current
London
Bridge
is,
specifically
the
medieval bridge, was the most important of all bridges in
London ever built. Next two bridges I described are Tower
Bridge,
the
best-known
bridge
in
London,
and
Millennium
Bridge, the last bridge built in London, which is used by
pedestrians only. The part of the work is a public survey,
which tells you what students from Liberec, aged from 16 to
20 years, know about this topic. In my work there is also my
own impression of visit to London.
- 30 -
6. ENCLOSURE
6. 1. Public survey in Czech
Byl/a jsi někdy v Londýně: ANO
Jaká řeka protéká Londýnem?
Který most se ti v Londýně nejvíc líbil?
Četl/a
jsi
někdy
(nebo
viděl/a
v TV)
něco
o
mostech
v
v TV)
něco
o
mostech
v
Londýně?
Věk
Byl/a jsi někdy v Londýně: NE
Jaká řeka protéká Londýnem?
Znáš nějaký londýnský most? Který?
Četl/a
jsi
někdy
(nebo
viděl/a
Londýně?
Věk
- 31 -
6. 2. Pictures
London in 13th century
- 32 -
London in 17th century
- 33 -
London in 19th century
Bridges that I have chosen for the description – Tower
Bridge, London Bridge and Millennium Bridge
- 34 -
6. 3. Graphs
Have you been to London?
37%
Yes
No
63%
Answers from those, who were to
Answers from those, who were not to
London
London
Which river flows through London?
Which river flows through London?
0%
13%
Thames
Thames
Other
Other
87%
100%
Which bridge did you liked the most?
Do you know any bridge in London?
Tower Bridge
5%
5%
Tower Bridge
9%
London Bridge
29%
None
London Bridge
Westminster Bridge
None
5%
81%
- 35 -
66%
7. SOURCES
Robert P. Gwinn, Chairman, Board of Directors, Peter B.
Norton, President McHenry, Editor in Chief
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., volume 7, Chicago
MICROPAEDIA, ISBN 0-85229-571-5
Robert P. Gwinn, Chairman, Board of Directors, Peter B.
Norton, President McHenry, Editor in Chief
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., volume 11, Chicago,
MICROPAEDIA, ISBN 0-85229-571-5
Christopher Hilbert
LONDÝN, životopis města
Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Praha, 1998
ISBN 80-7106-214-6
David Arscott, Heather Barraclough, Michael Z. Brooke, Joe
de Casa, Gill Davies, Martin Marix Evans, Angus McGeoch,
Andrea Russ, Alexander Sabo, Philipp Zitzlsperger
LONDÝN ANGLIE A WALES, Nelles Verlag GmbH, Mnichov,
ISBN 3-88618-233-9
Eyewitness Travel Guides: London
Main contributor: Michael Leapman
DORLING KINDERSLEY
ISBN 0-7513-0009-8
- 36 -
www.barevny-svet.cz/page.php?file=focus.inc&focno=7&c=37
http://londyn.unas.cz/pamatky.htm
www.tiscali.cz/trav/trav center 040628.751169.html
www.pauza.cz/r-art.asp?ID=1675
http://gouk.about.com/cs/london/a/londonbridges.htm
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/leisure_heritage/
architectural_heritage/thames_bridges.htm
www.outwestnewspaper.com/london.html
http://midtown.net/dragonwing/col9802.htm
http://www.oldlondonbridge.com/presentday.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/3d/bridge.shtml
http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/millenniumbridge/
http://www.urban75.org/london/millennium.html
http://www.aviewoncities.com/london/towerbridge.htm
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Tower_Bridge.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/tower.h
tml
http://www.hartwell.demon.co.uk/tbpic.htm
www.touruk.co-uk/london-bridges/london_bridges.htm
www.talkingcities.couk/london_pages/sights_bridges
http://www.londonancestor.com/maps/london-central.jpg
- 37 -