Immediately west of the High Street, on the riverside, stands Fulham Palace, for centuries the manor house and country home of the Bishops of London. Almost facing each other on opposite banks are the old Fulham parish church of All Saints, noted in the early 19 th century for its peel of bells, and St.
Mary the Virgin, or Putney Church. Putney was part of the Manor of Wimbledon and in Norman times was a place of little consequence other than a fishery, which became noted for its salmon, smelt, and occasional sturgeon or porpoise.
During the 19 th century, from , the quiet village came alive each year at the time of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race.
Events tended to centre around the riverside Star and Garter pub, and in the mid th century the London Rowing Club established its own club-house there. There was already a ferry from Fulham to Putney by Norman times.
It was occasionally a dangerous crossing over the tidal river, such as the time one night in that a boat capsized when it was transporting some staff of Archbishop Laud.
Robert Walpole is said to have once been kept waiting on his way from Richmond to Westminster for an important parliamentary debate. A condition was that the proprietors paid compensation to the Bishop, as well as the Duchess of Marlborough Lord of the Manor of Wimbledon on the south bank , for their loss of ferry income.
Furthermore, they and their staff had the privilege of crossing the bridge for free, which led to abuse by those claiming such a right. Five designs were considered for the new Fulham Bridge as it was then known. Although accounts vary, it would appear that the successful design was by Sir Joseph Ackworth who also designed bridges at Windsor, Kingston, Chertsey, Staines and Dachet and William Cheseldon a surgeon at either or both St.
It was constructed by the royal carpenter, Thomas Phillips, and the official opening was in November The bridge was built entirely of wood, feet long and 24 feet wide. No passengers were hurt and were able to escape through a rear emergency door. Okay, it does and it doesn't. Putney Bridge is where you can see the boats of Oxford and Cambridge line up in their starting positions before they begin the gruelling 20 minute race.
However, the bridge is often mistakenly quoted as being the actual starting point of the race, a point which is actually a little further upstream.
Putney Bridge is the only bridge in Britain to be flanked by churches on both ends. On the north bank is All Saints' church, whose churchyard was partly dug up when the bridge was widened in and required 15 graves to be removed and resited. On the south bank is St Mary's church, the site of the famous Putney Debates on the English constitution.
There are two locked cages under Putney Bridge that prevent access into two storm relief sewer outlets. These were built to cope with overflow from one of the southern intercept sewers built in by Sir Joseph Bazalgette.
An old Putney myth that the cages were being used to drown criminals is, fortunately, untrue. The best things to do in London. The must-read London articles.
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