Selected article
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Battersea Bridge is a
cast iron and
granite five-span
cantilever bridge crossing the
River Thames. It links
Battersea south of the river with
Chelsea to the north and replaced a ferry service that had operated near the site since at least the middle of the 16th century.
The first bridge was a
toll bridge commissioned by
John, Earl Spencer, who had acquired the rights to operate the ferry. Although a stone bridge was planned, difficulties in raising investment meant that a cheaper wooden bridge was built instead. Designed by
Henry Holland, it was opened to pedestrians in November 1771 and to vehicles in 1772. The bridge was poorly designed and dangerous and, due to its location on a bend in the river, boats often collided with it. To reduce the dangers to shipping, two
piers were removed and the sections of the bridge above them were strengthened. Despite its problems, the bridge was the last surviving
wooden bridge on the Thames in London and was the subject of paintings by many significant artists such as
J. M. W. Turner,
John Sell Cotman and
James McNeill Whistler.
In 1879 the bridge was taken into public ownership, and in 1885 it was replaced with the existing bridge, designed by
Sir Joseph Bazalgette and built by
John Mowlem & Co. The narrowest surviving road bridge over the Thames in London, it is one of London's least busy Thames bridges. (
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Selected biography
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Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English town planner. After training as an
architect, he became
Professor of Civic Design at the
Liverpool University School of Architecture, and later Professor of Town Planning at
University College London. He was closely involved in the founding of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England (
CPRE). After its formation in December 1926, he served as its Honorary Secretary. He was knighted in 1945. In 1948, he became the first president of the newly formed
International Union of Architects or UIA (Union Internationale des Architectes).
Abercrombie is best known for the post-
Second World War replanning of
London and other British and international cities. He created the
County of London Plan (1943) and the
Greater London Plan (1944) which are commonly referred to as the Abercrombie Plan. The two plans proposed widespread reconstruction and replanning of the city and the urban areas of the surrounding counties and road and rail infrastructure including the construction of a series of concentric ring roads and underground rail loops to connect main line stations below ground to replace surface routes. (
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Selected pictures
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Image 1The western departures concourse of
King's Cross railway station.
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Image 2
London General Omnibus Company
B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by
AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during
World War I, this vehicle was operated on the
Western Front.
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Image 3A
tram of the
London United Tramways at Boston Road,
Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 4Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former
Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 5
55 Broadway, headquarters of the
UERL and its successors, is a Grade I
listed building in Westminster designed by
Charles Holden.
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Image 6
TX4 London Taxi at
Heathrow Airport.
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Image 7Helicopter landing at
London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the
River Thames in
Battersea.
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Image 8Early style tube roundel in mosaic at
Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 9The
New Routemaster built by
Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the
Routemaster.
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Image 10
Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 11"Boris Bikes" from the
Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 12Preserved
AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport
Green Line livery.
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Image 13Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir
Jacob Epstein on the
London Underground's headquarters at
55 Broadway.
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Image 14
Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the
River Thames between
Chelsea and
Battersea.
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Image 15
Vauxhall Bridge across the
River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by
F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 16London Underground
Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the
traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 17View of
Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by
Claude de Jongh.
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Image 18
Hornsey Lane Bridge,
Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 19Archer statue by
Eric Aumonier at
East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 20The original
Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 21
Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 22Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the
London Eye.
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Image 25Tram 2548 calls at
Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the
Tramlink network centred on
Croydon in south London.
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Image 26Sailing ships at
West India Docks on the
Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the
Canary Wharf development.
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Image 28The south façade of
King's Cross railway station London terminus of the
East Coast Main Line.
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Image 31London Underground
A60 Stock (left) and
1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the
Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 32Original stations on the
Metropolitan Railway from
The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 34Planes waiting at
Heathrow Airport's
Terminal 4.
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Image 35The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the
Inner Circle,
Middle Circle,
Outer Circle and
Super Outer Circle.
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Image 36The multi-level junction between the
M23 and
M25 motorways near
Merstham in
Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 39
Qantas
Boeing 747-400 about to land at
Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue,
Hounslow.
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Image 40The newly constructed junction of the
Westway (
A40) and the
West Cross Route (
A3220) at
White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 42
Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the
Northern line.
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Image 43Escalators at
Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the
station box to reach the deep-level
Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 45
Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 46
Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the
River Thames in west London.
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Image 48Southern approach to the
Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the
River Thames in east London between
Rotherhithe and
Limehouse.
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