Hammersmith Bridge

Information about Hammersmith Bridge

Hammersmith Bridge, seen from the Westminster to Kew tourist boat

Rowing crews racing under Hammersmith Bridge

Hammersmith Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in west London, just south of the Hammersmith town centre area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on the north side of the river. It allows road traffic and pedestrians to cross to Barnes (in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames) on the south side of the river. The current bridge is the second permanent bridge on the site.

The construction of a bridge was first sanctioned by an Act of Parliament in 1824 and work on site began the following year. It was the Thames’ first suspension bridge and was designed by William Tierney Clark.

The bridge had a clear water-way of 688 feet 8 inches. Its suspension towers were 48 feet above the level of the roadway, where they were 22 feet thick. The roadway was slightly curved upwards, 16 feet above high water, and the extreme length from the back of the piers on shore was 822 feet 8 inches, supporting 688 feet of roadway. There were eight chains, composed of wrought-iron bars, each five inches deep and one thick. Four of these had six bars in each chain; and four had only three, making thirty-six bars, which form a dip in the centre of about 29 feet. From these, vertical rods were suspended, which supported the roadway, formed of strong timbers covered with granite. The width of the carriageway was 20 feet, with two footways of five feet. The chains passed over the suspension towers, and were secured to the piers on each shore. The suspension towers were of stone, and designed as archways of the Tuscan order. The approaches were provided with octagonal lodges, or toll-houses, with appropriate lamps and parapet walls, terminating with stone pillars, surmounted with ornamental caps. Construction of the bridge cost some Â£80,000. It was operated as a toll bridge.

Engraving of the first Hammersmith Bridge, made in 1827

Plans for its replacement began to be made during the 1870s, during which time a temporary bridge allowed a more limited cross-river traffic.

The current suspension bridge was designed by noted civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette and rests on the same pier foundations constructed for Tierney Clark’s structure. It was opened by the Prince of Wales on 11 June 1887. With much of the supporting structure built of wrought iron, it is 700ft long and 43ft wide and cost Â£82,117 to build.

IRA attacks

In June 2000, the bridge was damaged by a RIRA bomb, four years after a previous bombing by the PIRA, but following closure for repairs was reopened with weight restrictions in place.^[1]

The IRA's first attempt to destroy the 113-year-old bridge in 1939 was foiled by a quick-thinking member of the public. Maurice Childs, a hairdresser from Chiswick, west London, was walking home across the bridge in the early morning when he noticed smoke and sparks coming from a suitcase. He opened it to find a bomb. He threw the bag into the river and the explosion sent up a 60ft column of water.

Moments later, a second device exploded causing girders on the west side of the bridge to collapse and shattering windows in nearby houses. Mr Childs was awarded an MBE for his courage. Eddie Connell and William Browne were given jail sentences of 20 and 10 years respectively.

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

London's Transport Museum Photographic Archive Partial view of William Tierney Clark's bridge, circa 1880
Hammersmith Bridge (1827) in the Structurae database
Hammersmith Bridge (1887) in the Structurae database

Barnes (Surname)

Barnes (A History)

The 0rigin of the surname Barnes:

Â° May have derived from the Gaelic word “bearn” meaning Gap and of the Parish of Barnes located in Aberdeen shire, Scotland; or
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London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Shown within Greater London
Geography
Status London borough
Area
— Total Ranked 290th
57.
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bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, river, body of water, or any other physical obstacle. Designs of bridges will vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is to be constructed.
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An Act of Parliament or Act is law by the parliament (see legislation).
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This article is concerned with a particular type of suspension bridge, the suspended-deck type. For an index to the several types see suspension bridge types.

A suspension bridge
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William Tierney Clark (23 August 1783–22 September, 1852) was an English civil engineer particularly associated with the design and construction of bridges. He was among the earliest designers of suspension bridges.
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Wrought iron is commercially pure iron, having a very small carbon content (not more than 0.15 percent), but usually containing some slag. It is tough, malleable and ductile and is easily welded. However, it is too soft for blades.
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toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a fee, or toll. Some major facilities may be in combination with a tunnel and are called a bridge-tunnel complex.

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A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering, one of the many engineering professions. Originally a civil engineer worked on public works projects and was contrasted with the military engineer, who worked on armaments and defenses.
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Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was one of the great English civil engineers of the Victorian era. As the chief engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of a sewer network for central London, which
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Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910.
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Real Irish Republican Army
(Ã“glaigh na hÃ‰ireann)

Northern Ireland shown in Red

Formation November 1997
Type Paramilitary
Membership Approximately 150
Key people Army Council The Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the
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Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish: Ã“glaigh na hÃ‰ireann) (IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the 'RA.
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The S-Plan or "Sabotage Campaign" or "England Campaign" was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of Britain from 1939 to 1940. The campaign was conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
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This is a list of crossings of the River Thames, downstream first, including bridges, tunnels and ferries. In all, there are 214 bridges, 17 tunnels, six public ferries but not one ford.
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Thames

The Thames in London

Country | England
Regions | Gloucestershire,Oxfordshire,Berkshire,Buckinghamshire,Surrey,Greater London,Kent

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Barnes Railway Bridge crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the South West Trains Hounslow Loop Line, and lies between Barnes Bridge and Chiswick stations.
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Chiswick Bridge crosses the River Thames in London in a North-East to South-West direction. It is on the A316 route, and joins the areas of Mortlake and North Sheen in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the South side, with Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow on
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