Thames Street, London Thames Street, London Thames Street, divided into Lower and Upper Thames Street, is a road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It forms part of the busy A3211 route (prior to being rebuilt as a major thoroughfare in the late 1960s, it was the B132) from Tower Hill to Westminster. The London Bridge underpass marks the divide between Upper and Lower Thames Street, with Lower to the east and Upper to the west. Thames Street is mentioned in the diary of Samuel Pepys. The first mention of the road, however, is from 1013 when
London Bridge Is Falling Down was the only crossing on the Thames in London. It was damaged in a major fire in 1633, but in the fire of 1666 this damage acted as a fire break and prevented the flames from further damaging the bridge and crossing to the south side of the Thames. With its 19 narrow arches, it impeded river traffic and flow. Central piers were removed to create a wider navigational span. Widening and the removal of its houses was completed in 1763, but it remained relatively narrow and needed continual and expensive repairs. In the early nineteenth century it was decided