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The original Blackfriars Bridge was dismantled in 1860. P.A. Thom & Company won the contract for the bridge's reconstruction, and they placed an order with Lloyds, Foster and Company for the required ironwork.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/Wednesbury/Lloyd/Wednesbury.htm/ |title=The Lloyds of Wednesbury |access-date=17 October 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121085623/http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/Wednesbury/Lloyd/Wednesbury.htm |archive-date=21 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> However, P.A. Thom encountered difficulties in finding stable foundations for the bridge, which ultimately led to financial troubles. As a result, Lloyds, Foster and Company went bankrupt, suffering a loss of £250,000 on the project. The metalwork for the bridge was ultimately constructed by The [[Patent Shaft]] and Axletree Company, [[Wednesbury]], following their acquisition of Lloyds, Foster and Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackcountryhistory.org/collections/getrecord/GB146_BS-PS/|title=Patent Shaft Steel Works Ltd, Brunswick, Monway and Old Park Works, Wednesbury|access-date=17 October 2017}}</ref>
The present bridge which on 6 November 1869 was opened by Queen Victoria<ref>{{cite news|title=The Queen's Visit to the City: Opening of Blackfriars Bridge and Holborn Viaduct|newspaper=[[London Evening Standard|The Standard]]|location=London|date=1869-11-08|pages=6–7}}</ref> is {{convert|923|ft}} long, consisting of five wrought iron<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=693|work=Engineering Timelines|title=Blackfriars Bridge|access-date=2018-01-21}}</ref> arches built to a design by [[Joseph Cubitt]]. Cubitt also designed the adjacent rail bridge (now demolished) and it was a condition that the spans and piers of the two bridges be aligned. Like its predecessor it is owned and maintained by the [[Bridge House Estates]], a charitable trust overseen by the [[City of London Corporation]].
On 14 September 1909 a [[Trams in London|tram line]] was opened across the newly widened bridge by the Lord Mayor of London, [[George Wyatt Truscott]].<ref name="Marshall">{{cite book|author=Marshall, Prince (1972)|title=Wheels of London|publisher=The Sunday Times Magazine|page=20|ISBN=0-7230-0068-9}}</ref> It closed on 5 July 1952.
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==Decorations==
[[File:Temperance - Statue - Blackfriars Bridge north end - London - 240404.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Temperance
[[File:Queen Victoria Statue, Blackfriars Bridge.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Queen Victoria statue delivery]]
On the piers of the bridge are stone carvings of water birds by sculptor [[John Birnie Philip]]. On the East (downstream) side (i.e. the side closer to the [[Thames Estuary]] and [[North Sea]]), the carvings show marine life and seabirds; those on the West (upstream) side show freshwater birds – reflecting the role of Blackfriars as the tidal turning point.
▲[[File:Temperance - Statue - Blackfriars Bridge north end - London - 240404.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Temperance, a statue atop a drinking water fountain at the north end of Blackfriars Bridge.]]
On the north side of the bridge is a statue of [[Queen Victoria]] (funded by Sir [[Alfred Seale Haslam]]<ref name="vict">{{cite book|last=Ward-Jackson|first=Philip|title=Public sculpture of the city of London|year=2003|pages=520|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiK0DbcUBIUC&q=%22was+mayor+of+derby%22&pg=RA1-PA275|isbn=978-0-85323-977-2|publisher=Liverpool University Press}}</ref>), to whom the bridge was dedicated.
At the north end of the bridge is a commemorative plaque documenting the bridge's history, including its reopening in 1909 by Lord Mayor Truscott, accompanied by a relief of the [[coat of arms of the City of London Corporation]].<ref name="Marshall"/>
The ends of the bridge are shaped like a pulpit in a reference to Black Friars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://londonist.com/2015/10/hiding-in-plain-site#gallery=2133548,2133552|work=Londonist|title=11 Secret Features Of Famous London Landmarks|date=20 October 2015|access-date=2018-01-21}}</ref>
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[[Category:Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Southwark]]
[[Category:Bridges in London]]
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