
Lambeth Suspension Bridge
[Lambeth Suspension Bridge].
- Author: Anonymous
- Publication date: c.1861
- Physical description: Watercolour on paper.
- Dimensions: 240 by 600mm (9.5 by 23.5 inches).
- Inventory reference: 12471
Notes
The first modern bridge at Lambeth was a suspension bridge, designed by Peter W. Barlow. Sanctioned by an Act of Parliament in 1860, it opened as a toll bridge in 1862, but doubts about its safety, coupled with its awkwardly steep approaches deterring horse-drawn traffic, meant it soon became used almost solely as a pedestrian crossing. It ceased to be a toll bridge in 1879 when the Metropolitan Board of Works assumed responsibility for its upkeep – it was by then severely corroded, and by 1910 it was closed to vehicular traffic.
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