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
Vauxhall Bridge second bridges requiring several redesigns from multiple architects. The original bridge, the first iron bridge over the Thames, was built by a private company and operated as a toll bridge before being taken into public ownership in 1879. The second bridge, which took eight years to build, was the first in London to carry trams and later one of the first two roads in London to have a bus lane. In 1963 it was proposed to replace the bridge with a modern development containing seven floors of shops, office space, hotel rooms and leisure facilities supported above the river, but