
Westminster Bridge and surrounding landmarks at night.
'Westminster Bridge' is a road and foot traffic bridge over the
River Thames between
Westminster and
Lambeth, in
London,
England. The current bridge, opened in
1862, is the second on the site and replaced an earlier stone bridge that had opened in
1750, but which was subsiding badly and expensive to maintain. Westminster Bridge is a seven-arch wrought iron bridge which has
gothic detailing by
Charles Barry (the architect of the
Palace of Westminster). It is the only bridge over the Thames that spans seven arches and is the oldest bridge in the central area of the river Thames.
The bridge is predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the
House of Commons which is on the side of the
Palace of Westminster nearest the bridge. This is in contrast to
Lambeth Bridge which is red, the same colour as the seats in the
House of Lords and is on the opposite side of the Houses of Parliament.
It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with
County Hall and the
London Eye on the east and was the finishing point during the early years of the
London Marathon.
The next bridge downstream is
Hungerford footbridge and upstream is
Lambeth Bridge.
Trivia
In the
2002 science Fiction film ''
28 Days Later'', the protagonist awakes from a coma to find London deserted, and walks over the Westminster Bridge whilst looking for people.
Westminster Bridge is the start and finish point for the
Bridges Handicap Race, a traditional London running race.
William Wordsworth wrote the sonnet ''
Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802''.
In the British Science Fiction series
Doctor Who, Westminster Bridge has been used for various location shots. It was used originally in 1964 in the serial
The Dalek Invasion of Earth which depicts the structure as desolate and deserted. Several
Daleks are seen gliding over the bridge and the adjoining
Albert Embankment. The location was then re-used by the production team when the series was revived in 2005 where the ninth doctor and
Rose Tyler run across the bridge in the episode ''
Rose (Doctor Who)''
External links
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