Old London Bridge: The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe [Paperback]

Patricia Pierce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002

For over 600 years, Old London Bridge represented the pulsating heart of London. The scene of commerce and battle, romance and ceremony, it remained a vibrant focal point for 20 generations of Londoners. This remarkable structure—with its drawbridge, nineteen arches, and nineteen piers—stood majestic through the centuries and was an inspiration to many who saw it. This is the story of the bridge, its inhabitants, and its extraordinary evolution—and of how it came to live on in affectionate folk memory, occupying a unique place in London’s heritage.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Eminently readable, engrossing, entertaining.” -- Time Out

From the Publisher

For over 600 years, Old London Bridge represented the pulsating heart of London. The scene of commerce and battle, romance and ceremony, it remained a vibrant focal point for twenty generations of Londoners: life and death flowed over and under it. This remarkable structure—with its drawbridge, nineteen arches, and nineteen piers—stood majestic through the centuries and was an inspiration to many who saw it. This is the story of the bridge, its inhabitants, and its extraordinary evolution—and of how it came to live on in affectionate folk memory, occupying a unique place in London’s heritage.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747234930
• ISBN-13: 978-0747234937
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patricia (also Pat, P.M.) May Pierce (nee Culp), born 1943, was raised on a farm on Culp Road, Vineland, Ontario in the heart of Niagara's fruit lands. The family is descended from United Empire Loyalists, and from a young age she felt history all around her. Right next door was grandpa Joe Ed Culp, an amateur historian, who investigated local history. He also compiled a number of very detailed family trees, writing innumerable letters, while sitting at the kitchen table diligently bashing away on his antique typewriter.

With a knack for finding arrowheads in newly ploughed fields and orchards, it was easy for her to imagine the local native people hunting along the Twenty River and camping in nearby picturesque Jordan Hollow. On the family farm remains the huge old barn, built high for an earlier era (wheat) with a solid structure of massive tree trunks, some with the bark still on them. Parts of the barn are now listed as historic artifacts.

A graduate of The University of Waterloo, she joined the historic Ryerson Press in Toronto, Ontario. Ryerson was an old-style publishing house with presses and practices ranging from the Dickensian to the up-to-date. Older managers had been in the war together and avoided firing another veteran. It was not unheard of for a member of staff to retire after 60 years. The eccentricities of the authors - a poet with a bottle of wine might wander in before lunch for a relaxed chat - were often rivaled by those of the staff. The under-employed Advertising secretary might spend the day drawing up detailed astrological charts for colleagues followed by extensive discussion, that is, when she wan't studying electronic music. Yet in editorial meetings ideas for fine new books blossomed. (They were the first to publish Alice Munro in book form). It was all fascinating to a novice. Under one roof a successful book idea would appear and progress through all stages to printing, coming to rest in the attached warehouse. There, among the sky-high piles of books, the warehouse manager was constructing a sailboat. She was hooked on book publishing. This was wonderful. It was fun. But, of course, it had to end.

At this time Ryerson was taken over by super-efficient McGraw-Hill. The media and the public were enraged. The oldest publishing company in Canada could not be protected from a US takeover. (There was a change in the law as a result.)

It was time for a change. In 1973 came the first of 35 years in London, England, editing and writing books. With history and culture so densely to hand, and with the Continent so near, she traveled - on one adventure by motorcycle to Morocco (don't do it). She wrote and writes mainly on historical topics and the lives of the extraordinary people who make history. Her last in-house position in central London was as managing editor of a publishing house.

Patricia Pierce has returned to the Niagara Peninsula, writing and painting portraits - and still looking for arrowheads.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ye Keeper Of Ye Heads, January 15, 2003

By 

Bruce Loveitt (Ogdensburg, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Old London Bridge: The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe (Paperback)

This is a little gem of a book, concerning the history of Old London Bridge- the stone structure which spanned the Thames, and which operated from 1209 until it was replaced by Rennie's new bridge in August 1831. Actually, as the author Patricia Pierce points out, archaeological evidence was "unearthed" which showed that a wooden bridge had been on the same spot prior to the erection of Old London Bridge. (The wooden bridge dated back to Roman times.) Old London Bridge was functional for over 600 years. Rennie's new bridge was not so fortunate, becoming obsolete in 140 years- and is now serving as a tourist attraction in Arizona. The current London Bridge opened for business in 1973. Ms. Pierce has managed to make her book interesting by not limiting herself to the bridge, strictly speaking. After all, reading about the shops and houses that were on the bridge, the hazards of traveling over the bridge (due to congestion) and under it (the changeable currents), and all the repairs that were needed over the years- well, that could become tedious after awhile. (There is still enough of that material present for me to give the book 4 stars rather than 5.) So, the author uses the bridge as a focal point and enriches the story by telling us about people who crossed the bridge, who didn't like to cross the bridge, and who crossed under the bridge. The first category included the French king, John II, who was "paraded" over the bridge after being captured in 1357 at the Battle of Poitiers. Those being chivalrous times, John was well-treated. He was given comfortable accomodations at the Savoy Palace beside the Thames, and was allowed to visit the City of London. When he couldn't come up with the money necessary to ransom himself he was allowed to go back to France to try a little harder and his son, the Duke of Anjou, took his place as a hostage. Anjou showed considerable initiative by escaping and getting back to France. His father, however, thought that wasn't very sporting and voluntarily came back to London and once again was held for ransom. The English showed their appreciation by treating John even better the second time around and Sir Henry Picard, a former Mayor of London, had John as a guest at a dinner where five kings were present. In the second category (those who didn't like to travel over the bridge), Queen Elizabeth I is mentioned. It is unclear exactly why Elizabeth didn't like to do so...it could have been a fear of heights or concern for her personal safety (the bridge was extremely crowded with pedestrians, carts and animals and people were sometimes knocked into the Thames and drowned). In any event, it is believed that during her long reign Elizabeth only made the trip one time. In the final category (those going under the bridge) Samuel Pepys is mentioned, which offers Ms. Pierce the wonderful opportunity to talk about Pepys's career with the Naval Board, his famous diary, and his fondness for the ladies. Ms. Pierce even branches out a bit and covers things that may not have been on the bridge, but were at least nearby. This way we hear about the Globe theater, which got "its name from its sign and the flag which flew to announce that a play was in progress...It showed Hercules with the world on his shoulders...". Ms. Pierce even tells us that the rule of the road regarding "keep to the left" originated with a 1722 decision of the Common Council, which was made to control the traffic on London Bridge. One last thing I should mention, regarding the title of this review: For hundreds of years after the bridge opened, traitors' heads were set upon a gateway at the Southwark end of the bridge. Someone had to have the job of placing each new arrival "among the rotting heads, quarters and skulls already there...and (to toss) superfluous heads into the river below". Hence, the position description: Keeper Of The Heads!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fishmongers, bawds, prelates, and kings, September 12, 2005

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Old London Bridge: The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe (Paperback)

The old London Bridge serves as a focal point for twenty generations of London history: bawds and fishmongers as well as prelates and kings. The Thames itself stars as a vicious, unpredictable bully, killing rash boatmen who tried to 'shoot' between the bridge's piers. "Many people refused point blank to go 'through the Bridge', such was the frequent loss of life..."

As the bridge was built, the river was seriously and increasingly restricted. Many lives were lost (the author estimates about 200 during the thirty-three years of construction in the twelfth century) as the bridge's nineteen arches were built under and over the wide, swiftly flowing, tidal river.

One of the most interesting sections of "Old London Bridge" involves speculation on exactly how the bridge was built. The Thames was neither dammed nor diverted, so how were the bridge's foundations sunk and strengthened? "Interestingly, Sir Christopher Wren later considered the question, and concluded that....'every Pier was set upon Piles of Wood, which were drove as far as might be under low Watermark, on which were laid planks of Timber, and upon them the Foundation of the Stone Piers.'"

His theory was confirmed when the Old London Bridge was deconstructed in the nineteenth century.

Once the bridge was built, it had to be constantly repaired. The Bridge Masters or Bridge Wardens were in daily charge of not only maintaining the bridge, but also for using its lands and rents to pay for the repairs.

This book is full of the noise and ingenuity of the bridge-dwellers and everyone who crossed through their stony territory. The author frames some of the greatest spectacles seen during Old London Bridge's 600-year existence, including a joust, royal processions, and Midsummer's Eve celebrations. It seemed a shame to many that the houses and gateways on the bridge were finally removed in the eighteenth century. An anonymous poet wrote: "The Bravest sight that I e'er ken/ Was London Bridge with its gay shopmen:/ Where all might find what they did lack,/ From an ABC to a pin's pack;/ But now the shops are clear'd away,/ Heigh-ho! Alas! and a well-a-day!"

We can only read and speculate on what Old London Bridge was like in its noisy, mercantile prime. This author does a fine job of reproducing the heroism, squabbling, smells, and the constant procession of humanity that crossed the nineteen crowded arches above the swift currents of Father Thames.

3.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but ..., June 26, 2011

By 

DrPig39 (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old London Bridge: The Story of the Longest Inhabited Bridge in Europe (Paperback)

Author Patricia Pierce has certainly done an excellent job in collating a vast amount of information on Old London Bridge throughout its multiple (at least 7) major stages of development. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the history of London in general, and the bridge in particular. The only quibble is with the presentation. At times, it seems Pierce has tried to include literally every nugget of information she has ever collected. Some anecdotes only run to a sentence or two. Some stories start off well then peter out with no payoff for the reader. Some reminiscences are just simply dull. Readers may wish to keep a London guidebook handy (or at least keep Google maps running and to hand) when reading about the lanes, streets and suburbs of London that are often referred to. The book also does not do justice to the magnificent line drawings of the 7 stages of the bridge by Gordon Home which deserve to be presented in much larger scale - although this is hardly the fault of the author. My personal favourites are the 1390 joust on the old bridge between the Scottish and English champions - in which the Scots won; how could I have lived in Scotland for 11 years and never heard about that?! And the fact that the English appetite for public execution was so high that one London street near the bridge had a gallows at each end to satisfy the demand. The indelible memory of traitors' gate on the bridge with its display of severed heads and quarters - the sight and the smell must have been incredible - will remain with readers for a long time. Overall very good, but ...