London Bridge and Southwark Cathedral

An evocative view of Rennie's London Bridge by William Wyllie. The view is from the north-west corner of the bridge, looking south towards Southwark Cathedral. A rowing boat and a lighter negotiate their way under the bridge. The angle of the view suggests that Wyllie leaned over the edge of the Thames path to capture this image. Seagulls in flight dominate the centre of the etching, with additional seagulls rendered in detail resting along the right side of the Thames path. The work is signed ‘W L Wyllie’, lower left margin.

John Rennie’s elegant structure replaced the medieval bridge, which had stood since its completion at the beginning of the 13th century. It was built 100 feet west of the original site and was completed by Rennie’s son (also John) in 1831. After being widened in 1902-04 to cope with an increasing volume of traffic, it was discovered that the foundations were sinking and it was eventually replaced by a new bridge which was opened in 1973. An interesting fate befell Rennie’s bridge: it was sold to the American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch in 1968 and shipped piece by piece to Lake Havasu City, Arizona where it was rebuilt and exists to this day as a tourist attraction.

W. L. Wyllie (1851-1931) was a British Marine artist. Born in London, Wyllie painted, drew, and etched Thames scenes throughout his life. He moved to Portsmouth in 1907, where he continued working, supported the restoration of the Victory and painted the Trafalgar Panorama. Early in his career Wyllie was an illustrator for The Graphic, and he became a member of the Royal Academy in 1907.