SOUTHWARK BRIDGE AND NOS. 1–15 SOUTHWARK BRIDGE ROAD—ANCHOR
TERRACE In 1811 a company was formed and empowered by Act of
Parliament to erect "a Bridge over the River Thames from or near
the Three Cranes … in the City of London, to the opposite Bank …
in the Parish of Saint Saviour." (ref. 193) Southwark Bridge was
built in 1814–19 by Sir John Rennie and is generally regarded as
having been unsurpassed as an example of the use of cast iron in
bridge building. The bridge was freed from toll in 1864. In 1868
it was purchased by the City of London Corporation who had
hitherto rented it. The building of the present bridge was begun
in 1912 but, owing to the war, it was not opened to traffic
until 6th June, 1921. The architects were Sir Ernest George and
Alfred Bowman Yeates. The 1811 Act provided for the formation of
a southern approach road to Southwark Bridge not less than 60
feet in width from Horse Shoe Alley to Blackman Street to be
joined to the bridge by the formation of an arch over Bankside.
Anchor Terrac