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Núria F 1st bat C and Judit H 1st bat B

Tate Britain

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London Bridge (is falling down!)

The London Bridge is a bridge in London (England) that crosses the river Thames, between the City of London and Southwark.

Situated between the bridges of "Cannon Street Railway" and "Tower Bridge" (it is commonly confused with this last one although they are different bridges). The original bridge of London was one of the most famous in the world: it was the only bridge that crossed the Thames in London until the Bridge of Westminster in 1750.

South of the bridge you can find the Cathedral of Southwark and London Bridge station. North of it you can find the Monument to the Great Fire of London.

History

The bridge is almost 2000 years old. The first bridge on the Thames was built by the Romans in the current place around the year 46 d. C. It was made of wood. In 1013, the king Ethelred burned the bridge to stop the invading Danish Svein Haraldsson. The reconstructed Bridge of London was destroyed by a storm in 1091, and again (this time because of the fire) in 1136. Peter of Colechurch proposed to replace the bridge of wood by a permanent building of stone. Houses on the bridge were built, so soon it was full of shops, houses and even a chapel in the center of the bridge. Recordsd of the period show that there were buildings of up to seven floors.

In 1722 the congestion was such on the bridge, that the major decreed that "all the carriages and cars of horses going in from out in direction the city have to circulate in the West side of the bridge, and all the carriages and cars of horses going out from the city to out had to circulate in the East Side of the bridge". This possibly was the origin that in the United Kingdom people drive on the left. Finally, in 1758-62 They knocked down all the houses on the bridge.

At the end of the 18th century it was obvious that the bridge -after 600 years- needed to be replaced The old bridge was finally replaced by an elegant design of five arches of stone, designed by John Rennie. The new Bridge was built with granite, with a length of 283m and a width of 15m. The official inauguration took place the 1st of August 1831.

Unfortunately, the bridge was sinking 1cm every three years.; it was obvious that the bridge would have to be replaced by a more modern one.

The Bridge of current London was built by John Mowlem from 1967 to 1972 and inaugurated by Queen Elisabeth II on the 17th of March 1973. It has 283 m long.

In 1984 the ship of war HMS Jupiter I clash with the Bridge of London causing a significant damage to the ship and to the bridge.

First photo: ancient Bridge of London in 1616

Second photo: ancient Bridge of London in 1745

Third photo: Bridge of London (1890)

Fourth photo: Bridge of London (1895)

Aide A , Marta A, 1st bat B

Who can find the lyrics of "London Bridge is Falling Down"?