‘THE FREE COURSE OF THE RIVER
BEING OBSTRUCTED BY THE NUMEROUS PIERS
OF THE ANCIENT BRIDGE,
AND THE PASSAGE OF BOATS AND VESSELS
THROUGH ITS NARROW CHANNELS
BEING OFTEN ATTENDED WITH DANGER AND LOSS OF LIFE
BY REASON OF THE FORCE AND RAPIDITY OF THE CURRENT,
THE CITY OF LONDON,
DESIROUS OF PROVIDING A REMEDY FOR THIS EVIL,
AND AT THE SAME TIME CONSULTING
THE CONVENIENCE OF COMMERCE
IN THIS VAST EMPORIUM OF ALL NATIONS,
UNDER THE SANCTION AND WITH THE LIBERAL AID OF
PARLIAMENT,
RESOLVED TO ERECT A BRIDGE
UPON A FOUNDATION ALTOGETHER NEW,
WITH ARCHES OF A WIDER SPAN,
AND OF A CHARACTER CORRESPONDING
TO THE DIGNITY AND IMPORTANCE
OF THIS ROYAL CITY:
NOR DOES ANY OTHER TIME SEEM TO BE MORE SUITABLE
FOR SUCH AN UNDERTAKING
THAN WHEN, IN A PERIOD OF UNIVERSAL PEACE
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
FLOURISHING IN GLORY, WEALTH, POPULATION, AND DOMESTIC UNION,
IS GOVERNED BY A PRINCE,
THE PATRON AND ENCOURAGER OF THE ARTS,
UNDER WHOSE AUSPICES
THE METROPOLIS HAS BEEN DAILY ADVANCING IN ELEGANCE AND
SPLENDOUR.

THE FIRST STONE OF THIS WORK
WAS LAID
BY JOHN GARRATT, ESQUIRE,
LORD MAYOR,
ON THE 15th DAY OF JUNE,
IN THE SIXTH YEAR OF KING GEORGE THE FOURTH,
AND IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, 1825.

JOHN RENNIE, F.R.S. ARCHITECT.’

“Printed copies of these Inscriptions, with an embossed border, were presented to each person on entering the Dam; as was also another edition of the Latin, engraven on copper, of the same size as the admission-ticket, and having the same view of the New Bridge above it. The brass plate was then placed upon the glass pillars, when Mr. Richard Lambert Jones, Sub-Chairman of the Committee for erecting the edifice, presented the splendid Trowel to the Lord Mayor, with this address: ‘My Lord, I have the honour to inform your Lordship, that the Committee of Management has appointed you, in your character of Lord Mayor of London, to lay the First Stone of the New London Bridge; and that I am directed to present your Lordship with this Trowel, as a means of assistance to your Lordship in accomplishing that object.’ Upon which the Lord Mayor turned towards the Duke of York, and thus addressed His Royal Highness, and the other witnesses of the ceremony.

“‘Though it is not essential for me to speak at any length upon the purpose for which we are this day assembled, since its importance to this great commercial City must be clearly evident; yet I cannot refrain from offering a few observations, feeling, as I do, more than an ordinary interest in the accomplishment of the undertaking, of which the present ceremony is only the primary step. I cannot consider the present a favourable moment for entering into any chronological history of the present venerable Bridge, which is now, from the increased commerce of the country, and the rapid strides made by the Sciences in this Kingdom, found inadequate to its purposes; but would rather advert to the many advantages which must naturally result from the completion of this great national enterprise. Whether there be taken into consideration the rapid, and consequently dangerous, currents arising from the obstruction incidental to the defects of this ancient edifice, which have proved so destructive to human life and property, or its difficult and incommodious approaches and acclivity, it must be matter of sincere congratulation, that we are living in times when the resources of this highly-favoured country are competent to a work of such great public utility. If ever there were a period more suitable than another, for engaging in national improvements, it must be the present; governed as we are by a Sovereign, the munificent and accomplished Patron of the Arts, beneath whose mild and paternal sway, by the blessing of Divine Providence, we now enjoy profound peace; living under a government, by the enlightened policy of which, our trade and manufactures so extensively flourish; and represented by a Parliament, ever ready to foster, by the most liberal grants, any plans for the improvement of the Empire; to which the present undertaking is so deeply indebted for its munificent support. Thus happily situated, it is impossible to hail such advantages with other feelings than those of gratitude and delight; and it is to me a source of unqualified pride and pleasure, that this great undertaking should have occurred in the year when I have been honoured by the office of Chief Magistrate of this great, this greatest, City, not of England only, but of the world; and that this important ceremony should take place in the Ward which I have the honour to represent in the Civic Councils. I cannot conclude without acknowledging how highly complimentary I feel it to the honourable office which I now fill, to meet such an auditory as now surrounds me; in which I see the illustrious Prince, Heir-presumptive to the Throne of this Kingdom; many of His Majesty’s Ministers, and the distinguished Nobles of the land; my active brother-magistrates; my kind fellow-citizens; and, above all, so brilliant an assemblage of that sex, whose radiant smiles, this day, shed a lustre on our meeting. Under such auspices, I rejoice to lay the Foundation-Stone of a structure, which, I trust, will, through all future time, prove an ornament to the Metropolis; reflect credit on the Architect; and redound to the honour of this Corporation: and I offer up a sincere and fervent prayer, that, in executing this great work, there may occur no calamity; that, in completing what is most particularly intended as a preventive of future danger, no mischief may overcloud the universal rejoicings on the undertaking.’

“The very warm applauses which followed this most appropriate address subsided only upon the commencement of the Masonic ceremonies, by a portion of fine mortar being placed around the cavity of the Stone, by several of the Assistants, and spread by the Lord Mayor with his splendid Trowel; after which, precisely at 5 o’clock, the First Stone was gradually lowered into its bed by a brazen block of four sheaves, and the power of a machine called a crab. When it was settled, it was finally secured by several Masons, who cut four sockets close to it on the stone beneath, into which were fitted strong iron clamps, cured with plaster of Paris. The Lord Mayor then struck it with a mallet, and ascertained its accuracy by applying the level to its East, North, West, and South surfaces. The work being thus perfected, the City Sword and Mace were disposed in Saltire upon the stone; successive shouts burst from the numerous spectators; the bands again played the National Anthem of England; and a flag being lowered as a signal on the top of the Dam, the guns of the Artillery Company, and the carronades on Calvert’s Brewery Wharf, fired a concluding salute. The declining Sun, also, contributed to shed a golden glory upon the closing ceremony; for, as the day advanced, its radiance streamed through an opening in the tent-covering above, and, gradually approaching the Stone, shone upon it with a dazzling brilliancy, at the very moment of its being deposited. The whole ceremonial terminated with an universal repetition of ‘God save the King,’ and three series of huzzas, for the Duke of York, Old England, and Mr. Rennie; after which, when the Procession had left the Dam, amidst similar acclamations to those which first greeted it, many of the visitors went down to the floor, to view the Stone more closely, and to boast to posterity that they had stood upon it, or walked over it.

“To conclude the festivities of the day with appropriate Civic hospitality, the Lord Mayor, at his own private expense, gave a most sumptuous banquet to the Corporation, and his noble visitors, at the Mansion House. The dinner and wines included Turtle, Venison, Champagne, Claret, and every other luxury; to which the following card of Invitation, thus commemorated the event:—

‘THE LORD MAYOR REQUESTS THE HONOUR OF