The Lock connecting the River Thames to St. Katherine Docks, London. Thomas Telford. 1829. This photograph shows the view from the divided bridge facing the Thames and the warehouses. [Click on images to enlarge them.]
Left: Inner lockgate looking in the direction of the Thames. Right: Retractable walkway above the lock gates nearest the Thames.
A view of the lock looking toward the old warehouses.
Right: Chains on walls of the lock.
Telford’s Retracting Footbridge
The information plaque states that “This footbridge originally spanned the entrance to the East Dock. A drawing of the bridge, dated October 1829, is signed Thomas Rhodes, who was Thomas Telford’s resident engineer here from November 1828. On 27 October 1829 the Dock Company accepted the tender of John Lloyd, a millwright of Westminster, to build the wrought iron footbridge for £447. To allow ships to enter the East Dock the two halves of the bridge were withdrawn into recesses in the masonry. The bridge remained at the dock entrance until 1994, and is not only a link with the early period of St. Katherine Dock but is also a rare survivor of this type of structure.”
Related material
Photograph and formatting by George P. Landow. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.
Last modified 15 April 2012