London Bridge

road bridge across River Thames in London, opened in 1973

13 dated entries naming London Bridge, drawn from 13 separate years between 50 CE and 1968 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

JSON Wikipedia article Wikidata Q130206

1st century

50Romans build a wooden bridge across the Thames in the London area.source
60Boudica leads a rebellion of the Iceni against Roman rule in alliance with the Trinovantes, Cornovii, Durotriges and Celtic Britons. The Iceni and Trinovantes first destroy the Roman capital Camulodunum (Colchester), wipe out the infantry of the Legio IX Hispana (commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis) and go on to burn Londinium (London) (probably destroying London Bridge) and Verulamium (St Albans), in all cases massacring the inhabitants by the thousands.source
61Boudica leads a rebellion of the Iceni against Roman rule in alliance with the Trinovantes, Cornovii, Durotriges and Celtic Britons. The Iceni and Trinovantes first destroy the Roman capital Camulodunum (Colchester), wipe out the infantry of the Legio IX Hispana (commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis) and go on to burn Londinium (London) (probably destroying London Bridge) and Verulamium (St Albans), in all cases massacring the inhabitants in their thousands.source

9th century

886King Alfred the Great of Wessex recaptures London from the Danish Vikings, and renames it Lundenburh. Slightly upstream from London Bridge, he builds a small harbor called Queenhithe. Alfred hands the town over to his son-in-law Æthelred, lord of Mercia. A street system is planned out in the town, with boundaries of 1,100 yards from east to west, and around 330 yards from north to south.source

11th century

1091October 17 – London tornado: A T8 tornado (roughly equal to an F4 on the Fujita scale) occurs in London. The wooden London Bridge is demolished and the church of St. Mary-le-Bow is badly damaged.source

13th century

1209London Bridge is completed by a stone-arched structure. On the bridge are houses built; this is for paying the maintenance, though it has to be supplemented by other rents and by tolls.source
1212July 10 – The Great Fire: The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground; over 3,000 people die, many of them by drowning in the River Thames. According to a contemporary account: "An awful fire broke out on the Southwark side of London Bridge; while it was raging, a fire broke out at the other end also and so hemmed in the numerous crowds who had assembled to help the distressed. The sufferers, to avoid the flames, threw themselves over the bridge into boats and barges; but many of these sunk, the people crowding into them.".source
1264May – Simon de Montfort marches on London but the drawbridge on London Bridge has been raised by the Lord Mayor. Simon has the support of the Londoners, who manage to lower the bridge allowing him into the city. Henry III is forced to pardon the rebel nobles and reinstates the Provisions of Oxford. With Henry's power diminished, Simon announces that all debts owed to the Jews would be canceled.source

14th century

1305August 23 – After a three-week trial at Westminster, William Wallace is convicted of treason and of atrocities against civilians in war. After the trial, he is dragged through the streets of Smithfield in London and hanged, drawn and quartered – strangled by hanging – but cut down while still alive, emasculated, disemboweled (with his bowels burned before him), beheaded, and then cut into four parts. Wallace's head is placed on a spike above the London Bridge, and his limbs are displayed separately, in Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling, and Perth.source

17th century

1633February 13 – Fire engines are used for the first time in England in order to control and extinguish a fire that breaks out at London Bridge, but not before 43 houses are destroyed.source
1666September 2 – The Great Fire of London begins as a blaze in a bakery owned by Thomas Farriner on Pudding Lane, near London Bridge. Over a period of four days, the fire destroys more than 13,000 buildings (including Old St Paul's Cathedral), but only six people are known to have died, while at least 80,000 are left destitute and homeless. The events are recorded by Samuel Pepys in his diary. The resurveying of property is credited with advancing both cartography and the practices of surveying, as well as resulting in the modern definition by John Ogilby of the statute mile, as 1,760 yards.source

18th century

1729November 29 – The first (wooden) Putney Bridge is completed, as the only fixed crossing of the River Thames between London Bridge and Kingston, England.source

20th century

1968April 18 – London Bridge is sold to U.S. entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch for reconstruction at Lake Havasu City, Arizona.source