Editing Lambeth Bridge (section)

==History==
[[File:London Duck under Lambeth Bridge.jpg|thumb|left|Detail from upstream with [[DUKW]], [[Victoria Tower]] in centre]]
[[File:Lambeth Bridge upstream side1.jpg|thumb|left|Lambeth Bridge from [[Millbank]], facing east towards [[Lambeth]]]]
[[File:Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge 1897.jpg|thumbnail|right|280px|Map of 1897, showing [[Lambeth Palace]], Lambeth Bridge, the [[Houses of Parliament]] and [[Westminster Bridge]] ]]
[[File:River Thames, London-11Sept2009.jpg|thumb|left|The bridge nearest the camera is [[Westminster Bridge]], the next bridge is Lambeth Bridge, and the bridge just visible in the distance is [[Vauxhall Bridge]] (as seen from the [[London Eye]] [[Ferris wheel|observation wheel]])]]
[[File:Lambeth Bridge upstream side.jpg|thumb|Lambeth Bridge, seen from [[Millbank]], looking north and downstream]]

Lambeth Bridge is on the site of a horse ferry between the [[Palace of Westminster]] and [[Lambeth Palace]] on the south bank.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=47053 Lambeth Bridge and its predecessor the Horseferry]</ref> Its name lives on in [[Horseferry Road]], which forms the approach to the bridge on the north bank.

The first modern bridge was a suspension bridge, {{convert|828|ft|m|1}} long, designed by [[Peter W. Barlow]]. Sanctioned by the '''{{visible anchor|Lambeth Bridge Act 1861}}''' ([[24 & 25 Vict.]] c. cxvii), it opened as a toll bridge on 10 November 1862.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS84712299&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 |title=Lambeth Suspension Bridge |work=[[The Times]] |date=11 November 1862 |issue=24400 |page=5 |access-date=15 August 2017}}</ref> Doubts about its safety, coupled with its awkwardly steep approaches deterring horse-drawn traffic, meant it soon became used almost solely as a pedestrian crossing. It ceased to be a toll bridge in 1879 when the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]] assumed responsibility for its upkeep &mdash; it was by then severely corroded, and by 1910 it was closed to vehicular traffic.

The [[London County Council]] prepared a masterplan for the area, including a replacement road bridge linking to a widened [[Horseferry Road]], which was authorised by '''{{visible anchor| London County Council (Lambeth Bridge) Act 1924}}''' ([[14 & 15 Geo. 5]]. c. lxvii). Before work had started on the project, the [[1928 Thames flood]] caused extensive destruction of property in the Millbank area. Following the flood the [[Chelsea Embankment]] was rebuilt and raised, resulting in some minor redesign of the approaches, and creating the open space to the north of Lambeth Bridge now known as Victoria Tower Gardens South.  During the period of delay, the bridge was also redesigned to be able to cope with a higher weight of motorised traffic.

The current structure, a five-span steel arch, designed by engineer Sir [[George Humphreys (civil engineer)|George Humphreys]] and  architects Sir [[Reginald Blomfield]] and [[G. Topham Forrest]],<ref>[http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-496913-lambeth-bridge-and-attached-parapets-lig Listing description on British Listed Buildings]</ref> was built by [[Dorman Long]]<ref>[http://thames.me.uk/s00140.htm Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide]</ref> and opened on 19 July 1932 by King [[George V of the United Kingdom|George V]]. It formerly carried four lanes of road traffic (now reduced to three lanes, one of which is a buses-only lane flowing eastbound) from a [[roundabout]] junction by the [[Lambeth Palace]] northwards to another roundabout, where the [[Millbank]] road meets Horseferry Road .

The bridge is notable at road level for the pairs of [[obelisk]]s at either end of the bridge, which are surmounted by stone [[pinecone]]s.   However, there is a popular [[urban legend]] that they are [[pineapple]]s, as a tribute<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vauxhallandkennington.org.uk/history.shtml |title=commemorative pineapples |access-date=16 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708200002/http://www.vauxhallandkennington.org.uk/history.shtml |archive-date=8 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to Lambeth resident [[John Tradescant the younger]], who is said to have grown the first pineapple in Britain.<ref>[http://www.vauxhallcivicsociety.org.uk/history/tradescant-family/ Vauxhall Society:Tradescants] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407085316/http://www.vauxhallcivicsociety.org.uk/history/tradescant-family/ |date=7 April 2014 }}</ref>

The bridge was declared a [[Listed building|Grade II listed structure]] in 2008, providing protection to preserve its special character from unsympathetic development.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7750180.stm|title=London bridges get listed status|publisher=BBC News|access-date=26 November 2008|date=26 November 2008}}</ref>  The listing designation includes the parapets, lamps, obelisks and the approach walls.