Spencer calculated

[taixyz1992]

Spencer calculated that the money raised would be sufficient to finance a modest timber bridge, and a design was commissioned from rising architect Henry Holland. The bridge was built to Holland's designs by John Phillips, whose uncle Thomas Phillips had built the 1729 bridge at Putney.[12] The bridge was opened to pedestrians in November 1771 while still incomplete. In 1772, a chalk and gravel surface was added and the bridge was opened to vehicle traffic.[12] Tolls were charged on a sliding scale, ranging from 1⁄2d for pedestrians to 1 shilling for vehicles drawn by four or more horses.[11] The bridge was never formally named, and was referred to on maps of the period as both "Battersea Bridge" and "Chelsea Bridge".[n 4][16]


John, Earl Spencer, commissioned the first Battersea Bridge
The bridge was not a commercial success. It was 734 feet (224 m) long and only 24 feet (7.3 m) wide, making it impractical for larger vehicles to use.[12] Holland's design consisted of nineteen separate narrow spans, the widest being only 32 feet (9.8 m) wide,[17] and boats found it difficult to navigate beneath the bridge; there were a number of accidents including serious injuries and deaths.[12] Repeatedly rammed by passing shipping, the bridge required frequent costly repairs, and dividends paid to investors were low.[12] During a particularly cold winter in 1795 the bridge was badly damaged by ice, necessitating lengthy and expensive reconstruction, and no dividends at all were paid for the next three years.[18] Concerns were expressed in Parliament about the reliability of the bridge, and the Battersea Bridge Company was obliged to provide a ferry service at the same rate as the bridge tolls, in the event of the bridge being closed for repairs.[5]


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