This drawing by Peter Jackson depicts the methods used to construct the first stone London Bridge in 1176. The builders created enclosures at low tide, which they then filled with debris to act as the base of each pier (visible to left in the drawing). Planks were laid across the tops of these piles, so the builders had a surface from which to construct the starlings, which were wooden-faced pilings that eased the impact of the river on the bridge's piers. In total, the bridge had nineteen arches, and nineteen piers, which supported the structures on top. The starlings required constant upkeep, made possible by the revenue generated from the many properties held by the Bridge in the city. In its over six hundred years of use, the Bridge suffered only two collapses, five arches in 1281 and two in 1437. The timber bridge visible in the background reflects the now disproven notion that the earlier timber bridge was located further east of the stone bridge.

Construction of the Medieval London Bridge

Jackson, Peter

c. 1970

Gerhold, Dorian. London Bridge and Its Houses (Oxford, UK: Oxbow Books, 2021), Fig. 4.

London Bridge

eng 12th century

eng Modern Drawing/Painting

Look and Learn

Look and Learn/ Peter Jackson Collection

eng Streets and bridges

Lewis, Clare