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First impressions
Tower Bridge is a symbol of the elegance and grandeur of the Victorian period combined with superb engineering, and London Bridge reminds us of our 2,000 year history of bridge building. Stone bridges were built in the quiet upper reaches of the Thames many centuries ago, but downstream most bridges were built of wood until the 19th century.
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Tower Bridge |
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Putney Bridge |
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General Construction
Old Putney bridge fortunately survived into the age of photography. We can see the stone pilings, with the upper structure built of wood. The narrow arches made it a dangerous passage for barges, and many reports exist of fatal accidents. Swirling eddies of water existed where water flowed, but backwaters allowed the formation of thick ice in winter.
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Finance by Tontine
Until 1774, residents of Richmond relied on a ferry to cross the river. Putney, Kew and Kingston already had bridges, so Richmond was likely to lose trade to the neighbouring towns. £20,000 was raised using shares worth £100 each.
£800 was paid to the shareholders each year, whilst any lived. Initially this gave a return of 4%, but as shareholders died, the survivors received a larger percentage. The last person surviving would receive the £800 pounds per year.
Investors normally named the shareholder as one of their youngest children, to maximise the return for the family. The last survivor of this Tontine was an 86 year old lady who died in 1859. A second Tontine raised £5,000 for completion of the work. The covenant and share certificates can be viewed at Richmond Local Studies.
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Covenant 1776 |
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Toll keeper, Putney, 1880 |
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Taking their toll
Richmond was unusual in being a free bridge from the time that it was erected. Most bridges had used toll charges to recoup the cost of building them. This picture shows the toll keeper at Putney, just before his job was about to disappear in 1881.
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Free bridges for a free people
Kingston Bridge was freed from toll in 1870, followed by Walton, Staines and Kew. The money to recompense the trustees of the bridge was raised from coal and wine dues in the City of London. In the late 1800's there was a growing movement to remove tolls from all bridges and the watchword was "Free bridges for a free people".
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Kew Bridge, free of toll |
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Free opening of Kew Bridge |
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A number of our partner archives have newspaper articles of the time relating to the freeing of the bridges, along with posters, sketches and photographs.
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Introduction
Bridges and tolls
