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Construction of a bridge was first sanctioned by an Act of Parliament in 1726. Built by local master carpenter Thomas Phillips to a design by architect Sir Jacob Ackworth , the first bridge was opened in November 1729. A toll bridge, it featured tollbooths at either end of the timber-built structure. The bridge was badly damaged by the collision of a river barge in 1870, and although part of the bridge was subsequently replaced, soon the entire bridge would be demolished.

The Metropolitan Board of Works purchased the bridge in 1879, discontinued the tolls in 1880, and set about its replacement. The current bridge was designed by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette as a five-span structure, built of stone and Cornish granite. It is some 700ft long and 43ft wide, and was opened by the Prince (later King Edward VII) and Princess of Wales on 29 May 18861886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) Events January 18 Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. January 29 Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile. March, having cost around £240,000 to build.

Since 1845Events January 29 The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe is published for the first time New York Evening Mirror . March 1 President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. March 3 Florida is admitted as the 27th U., the bridge has been the starting point of the annual University Boat RaceThe Boat Race is a rowing race between the rowing clubs of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. It is rowed annually each Spring on the River Thames in London, England. The event is an extremely popular one, not only with the alumni o.