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
Kew Bridge Wood (1848–1918), who lived in Chiswick between 1897 and 1908, painted "", portraying passengers embarking from the river transport service at Kew Pier in front of the second bridge. Chiswick Local Studies Library has a painting "Kew Bridge and Strand-on-the-Green" attributed to Smyth Watson and also "Strand-on-the-Green and Kew Bridge" by an unknown artist. Hounslow Local Studies Library has "Kew Bridge" by James Isaiah Lewis, painted in about 1900. Kew Bridge Kew Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the River Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. The present bridge,