London Bridge 1831 ....from Dartmoor to Arizona.

Today, the granite quarries of Dartmoor are usually eerily still and quiet. As nature slowly but surely reclaims the landscape, the industrial remains and spoil now make fascinating and inspiring subjects for photographers and painters alike.

But as the excited visitors clamber over the rocks and relax amongst the summer heather, I often wonder if they realise that from these hillside scars, came some of London's most famous landmark buildings.

London Bridge 1831

By the end of the 18th century, it was apparent that the old London Bridge, by then over 600 years old, needed to be replaced. It was narrow, decrepit, and blocked river traffic.

In 1799, a competition for designs to replace it was held, It was eventually replaced by a structure of five stone arches, designed by engineer John Rennie.

West View of New and Old London Bridges, 1830

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Yates, Gideon
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The new one was built 30 m upstream of the original site by Rennie's son (of the same name). Work began in 1824 and the foundation stone was laid, in the southern cofferdam, on 15th June 1825.

The old bridge continued in use as the new one was being built, and was demolished after the latter opened in 1831.

The scheme necessitated the building of major new approach roads, which cost three times that of the bridge itself!

The 1831 structure had a length of 928 feet (283 m) and a width of 49 feet (15 m). Haytor granite was used in the construction, transported via the unique Haytor Granite Tramway.

The official opening took place on 1 August 1831. King William IV and Queen Adelaide attended a banquet in a pavilion erected on the bridge. The recently constructed HMS Beagle was the first ship to pass under it.

St. Paul's Cathedral and London Bridge from the Surrey Side, 1864

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London Bridge was widened in 1902–04 from 52 to 65 feet (16 to 20 m), in an attempt to combat London's chronic traffic congestion.

A dozen of the granite "pillars" quarried and dressed for this widening, but unused, still lie near Swelltor Quarry on the disused railway track a couple of miles south of Princetown.

In the end, the widening work proved too much for the bridge's foundations. It was subsequently discovered that the bridge was sinking an inch (3 cm) every eight years.

By 1924, the east side of the bridge was some three to four inches (102 mm) lower than the west side, and it soon became apparent that this bridge would have to be removed and replaced with a more modern one.

In 1967, the bridge was put up for sale. Council member Ivan Luckin had put forward the idea of selling the bridge, and recalled: "They all thought I was completely crazy when I suggested we should sell London Bridge when it needed replacing."

On 18 April 1968, Rennie's bridge was sold to the American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch of McCulloch Oil for US$2,460,000. Many still think that McCulloch believed mistakenly that he was buying the more impressive Tower Bridge!

As the bridge was taken apart, each piece was numbered to aid re-assembly, markings that can still be seen today.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA

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The bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and re-dedicated on 10 October 1971.

The reconstruction of Rennie's London Bridge spans a man-made canal that leads from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay, and forms the centrepiece of a theme park in English style, complete with mock-Tudor shopping mall.

Rennie's London Bridge has become Arizona's second biggest tourist attraction, after the Grand Canyon.

However, some stone was left at Merrivale Quarry near Princetown, and when Merrivale Quarry was abandoned and flooded in 2003, some of the remaining stone was sold in an online auction.

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