Westminster Bridge

Westminster Bridge and surrounding landmarks at night

Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster and Lambeth. The current bridge, opened in 1862, is the second on the site and replaced an earlier bridge that had opened in 1750 and had the tendency to sway alarmingly. Westminster Bridge is a seven-arch wrought iron bridge with has gothic detailing by Charles Barry (the architect of the Palace of Westminster).

The bridge is predominately green, the same colour as the leather seats in the House of Commons which is on the side of the Houses of Parliament 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.

External links

• Street map of Westminster Bridge, from Multimap.
• Aerial photo of Westminster Bridge, from Multimap; taken during the erection of the London Eye, which can see seen resting horizontally above the Thames..
• Upon Westminster Bridge by William Wordsworth