Chelsea Bridge spans the River Thames in west London, connecting Chelsea on the north bank to Battersea. The first bridge on the site, Victoria Bridge, was proposed in the 1840s as part of the Battersea Park development of marshlands on the south bank. Work on the nearby Chelsea Embankment delayed the opening of this suspension bridge until 1857. Although well received architecturally, as a toll bridge it was unpopular and faced competition from the newly built Albert Bridge. It was acquired in 1877 by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which abolished the tolls. Victoria Bridge, narrow and structurally unsound, was renamed Chelsea Bridge to avoid embarrassment to the Royal Family if it collapsed. After population growth and the introduction of the automobile, the bridge was demolished, and replaced in 1937 by the current structure, the first self-anchored suspension bridge in Britain. During the early 1950s it became popular with motorcyclists, who staged regular races across it. The bridge is floodlit from below at night, when the towers and cables are illuminated by 936 feet (285 m) of light-emitting diodes. In 2008 it achieved Grade II listed status. (Full article...)
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