19th-century London of the Thames from the City of London westwards experienced a flurry of bridge-building during the 19th century, improving overland communication to South London. At the turn of the 19th century there were only three existing bridges in Central London: Westminster Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, and the ancient London Bridge. Beyond Westminster, the closest bridge was that of Battersea, three miles upstream from Westminster Bridge. All four were demolished and rebuilt over the course of the century (completed in 1862, 1869, 1831,and 1885 respectively). In addition, a slew of new bridges for road, pedestrian, and railway traffic were built: Southwark Bridge
Port of London centuries it was the busiest port in the world, with wharves extending continuously along the Thames for , and over 1,500 cranes handling 60,000 ships per year. In World War II it was a prime target for the Luftwaffe during The Blitz. The first evidence of a reasonable sized trading in London can be seen during Roman control of Britain, at which time the Romans built the original harbour. The construction involved expanding the waterfront using wooden frames filled with dirt. Once these were in place the wharf was built in four stages moving downstream from the London Bridge (Brigham).