Waterloo, London "For a list of street names etymologies in the area see: Street names of Waterloo" Waterloo is connected to the Strand area on the north bank of the River Thames by Waterloo Bridge. The first bridge on the site was opened in 1817 and the current bridge was opened in 1945. The bridge was named to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Waterloo Road also dates from this time, built on land belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury.. St John's, Waterloo was constructed from 1822 by the Commissioners for Building New Churches as the population of the parish of
Richmond Bridge, London so the stone was laid by commission member Henry Hobart. The bridge opened to pedestrians in September 1776 and to other traffic on 12 January 1777, at which time the ferry service was closed, although work on the bridge was not completed until December 1777. A large milestone was placed at the Richmond end, giving the distances to other bridges and to local towns. There was no formal opening ceremony, and little initial recorded public reaction. However, the bridge soon became much admired for its design; an article in "The London Magazine" in 1779 said that the bridge was "a