Cheap Flats London

Cheap Flats London - This website can be yours! (See details on the Home page)

The medieval bridge had 19 small arches and a drawbridge with a defensive gatehouse at the southern end. Contemporary pictures show it crowded with buildings Cheap Flats London of up to seven stories in height. The narrowness of the arches meant that it acted as a partial barrage over the Thames, restricting water flow and thereby making the river more susceptible to freezing over in winter because of the slower currents.

The current was further obstructed by the addition of waterwheels (designed by Peter Morice) under the two north arches to drive water pumps, and under the two south Cheap Flats London arches to power grain mills. This produced ferocious rapids between the piers or "starlings" of the bridge, as the difference between the water levels on each side could be as much as six feet (two metres).[

Only the brave or foolhardy attempted to "shoot the bridge"—steer a boat between the starlings—and many were drowned trying to do so. As the saying went, the bridge was "for wise men to pass over, Cheap Flats London and for fools to pass under".[8]

The decision of King John to allow shops to be built on London Bridge slowed down the traffic crossing the river. The houses and shops took up space and could draw crowds, and when carts broke down or animals misbehaved, crossing the bridge could take up to an hour. For this reason, people Cheap Flats London on foot often chose to use the dozens of river taxi boats that quickly ferried Londoners from shore to shore.

Cheap Flats London

Although the bridge itself was about 26 feet (8 m) wide, the buildings on the bridge took up about 7 feet (2 m) on each side of the street. Some of these buildings projected another seven feet out Cheap Flats London over the river. The road for traffic was thereby reduced to just 12 feet (4 m) wide.

This meant that horses, carts, wagons, and pedestrians all shared a passageway just six feet wide, one lane going north and one south. There were a few places Cheap Flats London where houses and shops were not built, which allowed people to get out of the traffic and enjoy a glimpse of the river and the shorelines of London.