This week’s ‘London Shoes’ publication concerns a topic I knocked-out a few weeks back now – but it has been stored away in the Shoes ‘vaults’ and I completely forgot about it!!!
Anyway – as Shoes followers will already be aware – I don’t normally ‘do’ well known topics of London’s history – but because this particular subject matter has a bit of its own unique story, I felt it warranted coverage.
So – this blog is all about London’s distinctive “MILLENNIUM BRIDGE” – otherwise affectionately known as the “Wobbly Bridge”.
The ‘Millennium Footbridge’ (to give it it’s proper official title) – is a ‘suspension’ bridge linking the ‘Bankside’ on the southern shores of the River Thames – with the City of London on its northern banks.
Construction of this bridge started in 1998 and it eventually officially opened on 10th June as 2000.
The 1,066 ft long – 13 ft wide aluminium bridge cost of £18.2 million to build – £2.2 million over-budget.
It comprised of 3 sections held up by 2 piers.
Normally – any new bridge across the River has to be commissioned by an Act of Parliament – but the Millennium Bridge, in its uniqueness, was commissioned and authorised collectively by the Port of London Authority, the City of London and the London Borough of Southwark.
Its opening day saw over 90,000 people crossing it – with up to 2,000 people on it at any one time.
All this ‘traffic’ caused the bridge to ‘sway’ considerably from side to side – with people coming off it saying that they felt disoriented, dizzy and as a result, a little bit unsafe, and therefore reluctant to use it again.
Scientifically – the ‘sway’ amounted to 2.8 inches, at its worst.
So – embarrassingly – the day after its official opening, the decision was made to close the bridge down completely – so that it’s ‘wobble’ could be sorted out!!!
The services of some of the world’s top engineers were called upon to try ‘sort the sway out’ – and all manner of scientific reasons were put forward as to the cause of the ‘sway’.
In the end, it was considered that the main cause of the sway was down to ‘too many people on the bridge walking in-step together at the same time’……!!!
Interestingly – a similar situation occurred at the Albert Bridge, a little further down the Thames – a bridge commonly used by the troops based at Chelsea Barracks – and where there are historic signs and notices, informing the ‘troops’ to NOT march in unison.
The scientific repair work was simply to make the Millennium Bridge ‘stiffer’ to help stop the ‘sway’.
This was done by fitting:- 37 ‘fluid dampers’ – 17 ‘chevron dampers’ – V shaped ‘braces’ under the deck – 4 ‘vertical ground dampers’ to control lateral & vertical movements – 16 ‘pier dampers’ to control lateral & sideways movements.
Now – don’t ask me what all the above means – I haven’t a scoobie – but I’m sure it will mean something to someone with a scientifically /engineeringly wired brain.
The bridge’s suspension cables were all deliberately located ‘below deck’ – so as not to disturb a user’s views of the River.
Its suspension cables have a tension to pull a force of 2,000 tonnes – a tension that allows the bridge to hold up to 5,000 people at any one time.
The repair work started in May 2001 and was finished in February 2002 – and cost £5 million.
The Millennium Bridge was then officially re-opened in Feb 2002 – and it held the record of being the first pedestrian bridge opened in over 100 years.
Upon re-opening, it was obvious to all that the problem had been solved – there was no more ‘wobble’…..although, to this day – it is still commonly referred to as the ‘Wobbly Bridge’.
The Millennium Bridge has appeared in many tv & film scenes – the most notable being the opening scenes of ‘Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince’ – plus the 2014 released Marvel film ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.
So – having got ‘up close & personal’ with the Millennium Bridge – it was time for a little liquid refreshment – and so my London Shoes found themselves in a rather unusual little pub called “The Shaw’s Booksellers” Pub – in St. Andrews Hill near Blackfriars Station on the northern banks of the Thames.
This late 1800’s-built building used to be a ‘paper mill’ supplying material for nearby Fleet Street, when it was the centre of the Britain’s Newspaper industry.
The ‘Shaws Booksellers’ pub interior has several references to its ‘past’ – with a lot of its original fixtures & fittings from the past 150 yrs still in place – and of course – there are plenty of books lying around – a bit more unusual, but still a very enjoyable place to neck down a couple of ‘cheeky’ beers before heading off back home.
Hope you enjoyed the article and that its accompanying photos brought the story to life a little bit for you.
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Summarised below is the entire gallery of photos taken to support this Millennium Bridge blog
The ‘Millennium Footbridge’ as it’s officially entitled – is a ‘suspension’ bridge linking the ‘Bankside’ on the southern shores of the River Thames – with the City of London on its northern banks.
The Millennium Bridge is a 1,066 ft long x 13 ft wide aluminium bridge that cost of £18.2 million to build – £2.2 million over-budget.
Me – at the northern end of the Millennium Bridge
Construction of this bridge started in 1998 and it eventually officially opened on 10th June 2000.
Its opening day, in June 2000 – saw over 90,000 people crossing it – with up to 2,000 people on it at any one time.
An aerial view of the Millennium Bridge (*photo sourced from another website)
View of the River Thames from the Millennium Bridge – looking westwards
View from the Millennium Bridge – looking northwards toward St. Pauls Cathedral
Views from the Millennium Bridge – looking east
Me – on the Millennium Bridge – facing westwards
A view of the ‘City’ from the Millennium Bridge
On its opening day in 2000 – the volume of people ‘traffic’ going back & forth across it – caused the bridge to ‘sway’ considerably from side to side – with people coming off it saying that they felt disoriented, dizzy and as a result, a little bit unsafe, and therefore reluctant to use it again. Scientifically – the ‘sway’ amounted to 2.8 inches, at its worst.
Because of its ‘sway’ the Millennium Bridge was closed, the day after it officially opened. it was considered that the main cause of the sway was down to ‘too many people on the bridge walking in-step together at the same time’……!!!
Me – underneath the Millennium Bridge
The scientific repair work was simply to make the Millennium Bridge ‘stiffer’ to help stop the ‘sway’. As a result several engineering & scientific alterations were made.
37 ‘fluid dampers’ – 17 ‘chevron dampers’ – V shaped ‘braces’ under the deck – 4 ‘vertical ground dampers’ to control lateral & vertical movements – 16 ‘pier dampers’ to control lateral & sideways movements – were all added to the millennium Bridge – to help solve its ‘sway’ problem
37 ‘fluid dampers’ – 17 ‘chevron dampers’ – V shaped ‘braces’ under the deck – 4 ‘vertical ground dampers’ to control lateral & vertical movements – 16 ‘pier dampers’ to control lateral & sideways movements – were all added to the millennium Bridge – to help solve its ‘sway’ problem
37 ‘fluid dampers’ – 17 ‘chevron dampers’ – V shaped ‘braces’ under the deck – 4 ‘vertical ground dampers’ to control lateral & vertical movements – 16 ‘pier dampers’ to control lateral & sideways movements – were all added to the millennium Bridge – to help solve its ‘sway’ problem
37 ‘fluid dampers’ – 17 ‘chevron dampers’ – V shaped ‘braces’ under the deck – 4 ‘vertical ground dampers’ to control lateral & vertical movements – 16 ‘pier dampers’ to control lateral & sideways movements – were all added to the millennium Bridge – to help solve its ‘sway’ problem
37 ‘fluid dampers’ – 17 ‘chevron dampers’ – V shaped ‘braces’ under the deck – 4 ‘vertical ground dampers’ to control lateral & vertical movements – 16 ‘pier dampers’ to control lateral & sideways movements – were all added to the millennium Bridge – to help solve its ‘sway’ problem
The ‘sway’ repair work started in May 2001 and was finished in February 2002 – and cost £5 million.
Me – on the now ‘non-wobbly ‘Millennium Bridge’
View from the Millennium Bridge – looking northwards towards St. Paul’s Cathedral
The very same view of the Millennium Bridge – but this time from a vantage point where numbers of people are using it. (*photo sourced from another website)
Me – on Millennium Bridge – looking eastwards towards The Shard
A view from the Millennium Bridge – looking eastwards towards Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf
View from the Millennium Bridge – looking down on the River
Views from the Millennium Bridge – looking westwards
Interestingly – a similar situation occurred at the Albert Bridge, a little further down the Thames – a bridge commonly used by the troops based at Chelsea Barracks – and where there are historic signs and notices, informing the ‘troops’ to NOT march in unison.
Probably the photo I am most pleased with – that I took during my visit to the Millennium Bridge
Having got ‘up close & personal’ with the Millennium Bridge – it was time for a little liquid refreshment – and so my London Shoes found themselves in a rather unusual little pub called the “Shaw’s Booksellers” Pub – in St. Andrews Hill near Blackfriars Station on the northern banks of the Thames.
This late 1800’s-built Shaw’s Booksellers pub used to be a ‘paper mill’ supplying material for nearby Fleet Street, when it was the centre of the Britain’s Newspaper industry.
The exterior of the rather unusual “Shaw’s Booksellers” Pub – in St. Andrews Hill near Blackfriars Station on the northern banks of the Thames.
Another view of the exterior of the unusual “Shaw’s Booksellers” Pub – in St. Andrews Hill near Blackfriars Station on the northern banks of the Thames.
The Shaw’s Booksellers’ pub interior has several references to its ‘past’ – with a lot of its original fixtures & fittings from the past 150yrs still in place
Inside the Shaw’s Booksellers pub
Inside the Shaw’s Booksellers pub
The Shaw’s Booksellers’ pub interior has several references to its ‘past’ – with a lot of its original fixtures & fittings from the past 150yrs still in place
There are plenty of books lying around inside the Shaw’s Booksellers pub
A ‘cheeky’ pigs-ear – in the Shaw’s Booksellers pub – just begging for me to neck it down
Me – necking down another ‘cheeky’ one – in the Shaw’s Booksellers pub – near Blackfriars Bridge
What a lot of technical info, a real lesson in engineering, and how interesting that with 2,000 people on it, it ‘wobbled’, but now with the remedial work carried out it can now hold 5,000 (apologies if I’ve remembered that wrongly).
I’d like to see the troops all marching out of step😳, I think that would be worth watching.
Thank you, another good un,…. but then I’m not surprised
You missed a trick there Geoff, there’s a fantastic boozer called the Cockpit in St Andrews Hill also. The pub hosted cockfights many years ago, the viewing galleries still visible within the pub.
Hi John,
I know all about the ‘Cockpit’ pub – as I visited it when I published a blog entitled “London’s Lost Cockfighting Pits” – way back in 2017 (it was one of my first blogs)
I have provided below, a link to that blog posting as you may find it interesting.
https://www.londonshoes.blog/2017/10/26/londons-lost-cockfighting-pits/
Cheers….GEOFF (www.londonshoes.blog)
I’m new to your blog, didn’t realise you’d frequented the Cockpit before. Thanks for forwarding the relevant information though.
I’m sorry I missed it. I’d be curious to find out what it feels like to be walking across a bridge that sways from side to side. Not quite as wobbly as the rope bridge in the Indiana Jones picture, I hope!
Hi Brian – I’m guessing from the feedback from user on the bridge’s opening day – it wasn’t the most comfortable experience – and for it to be completely shut down the very next day, and for 2 years, until the problem was rectified, I reckon it must have been deemed a big problem.
Geoff (www.londonshoes.blog)
Thank you again for a great blog – and yet another visit to pubs that I didn’t know where there – fabulous pictures 🇨🇦
Another good read Geoff, that Shaws Booksellers pub looks interesting. All those old pubs are priceless , if only we could see them in their heyday . Thanks Geoff
Great stuff…. 👍
My favourite City London – for someone like me who now resides in Canada, following your London Shoes blogs,is just like going home 🇨🇦