Westminster Bridge Road
Westminster Bridge Road is a short, but busy, road in London, England. It runs on an east-west axis and passes through the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.
Between 1740–46, the Commissioners of Westminster Bridge bought land from the Archbishop of Canterbury and ground in Lambeth Marsh from the Lord Mayor and Commonalty of the City of London for the approach to the bridge on the southern Surrey side.[1] This was the start of Westminster Bridge Road.
The route
From the western end, the road starts as the A23 at the eastern tip of the County Hall roundabout, where the A302 Westminster Bridge, York Road and the A3036 Lambeth Palace Road all intersect.
It then passes under the railway lines just west of Waterloo station and crosses Lower Marsh before reaching the junction at Lambeth North tube station, which used to be known as Westminster Bridge Road between July 1906 and April 1917. At this junction, Baylis Road and Hercules Road meet and the A23 bears right (southward) as Kennington Road.
The road then continues as the A3202 and curves slightly northeast as it enters the St George's one-way system (traffic flows eastbound only) and ends at St George's Circus, which is where Waterloo Road, Blackfriars Road, Borough Road, London Road and Lambeth Road meet.
Places of interest
The Florence Nightingale Museum is at the west end, located within the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital.
Between 1964 and 1994, the office block located at 100 Westminster Bridge Road, otherwise known as Century House, was home to the UK's overseas intelligence agency, the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), or more commonly MI6.[2] The building was converted into homes and opened as The Perspective in 2001.
The London Necropolis railway station rebuilt its terminus in 1902, moving it to Westminster Bridge Road. Although the station was bombed in 1941 and subsequently closed, the entrance can still be seen at 121 Westminster Bridge Road.
The famous Canterbury Music Hall was situated at 143 Westminster Bridge Road. It was erected by Charles Morton in 1852 adjacent to the Canterbury Tavern. It was destroyed by bombing in 1942. Opposite the Canterbury was another music hall known as "Gatti's-in-the-Road", after its owner Carlo Gatti. This opened in 1865. It later became a cinema and, after being badly damaged in the Second World War, was demolished in 1950.
The Lincoln Tower built by Christopher Newman Hall in the late nineteenth century in memory of Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation is situated close to the junction with Kennington Park Road.
The Overseas Development Institute's office is at Westminister Bridge Road.
The Roman Catholic St George's Cathedral, Southwark is situated between Westminster Bridge Rd and St George's Rd.
References
- ↑ Westminster Bridge Road. In Sir Howard Roberts and Walter H. Godfrey (editors), Survey of London: volume 23: Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall (1951), pp. 69–74.
- ↑ Buildings page, Secret Intelligence Service web site
Coordinates: 51°29′54″N 0°06′29″W / 51.49839°N 0.10819°W