View of Blackfriars Bridge from the Thames with St Paul's Cathedral beyond; View of London Bridge from the Thames with The Monument and St. Magnus beyond; View of the original toll bridge at Battersea with the water tower; View of Old Putney Bridge, All Saints' Church and the Eight Bells Inn; and View of Westminster Bridge with the Palace and Abbey beyond

This set of pictures documents the series of bridges erected (or slightly modified in the case of London Bridge) across the Thames during the second half of the eighteenth century, contributing to London's fast evolving topography. Many of these were subsequently replaced by more permanent structures in the nineteenth century.

Old London Bridge, shown here with its houses removed (1758-1762), was the only permanent stone thoroughfare to the Surrey side until Westminster Bridge opened in 1750. In 1726, a wooden bridge at Putney, erected by the local carpenter Thomas Phillips to a design by the architect Sir Jacob Ackworth, provided the only bridge crossing between London and Kingston Bridges. This wooden structure was replaced in 1886 by a bridge designed by the civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. The first fixed crossing at Blackfriars was a toll bridge designed in 1769 by Robert Mylne. Originally called William Pitt Bridge (after the Prime Minister) this bridge was later renamed after Blackfriars Monastery, a Dominican priory which once stood nearby. This was replaced in 1869 by the five arch wrought iron structure designed by Joseph Cubitt that we see today. Finally, in 1771, a wooden bridge with nineteen narrow spans designed by Henry Holland was erected at Battersea. This was also replaced by a wrought iron structure, this time designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgett's in 1885.