DIMENSIONS AND REFERENCES.
COMMENCING AT THE CITY, OR NORTH END.
| Feet. | Inches. | |
|---|---|---|
| Breadth of First Arch | 10 | — |
| —————— Pier | 30 | — |
| ———— Second Arch | 15 | — |
| ——————— Pier | 18 | — |
| Length of Second Pier | 47 | 6 |
| Breadth of Third Arch | 25 | — |
| —————— Pier | 17 | — |
| Length of Third Pier | 41 | 6 |
| Breadth of Fourth Arch | 21 | — |
| ——————— Pier | 18 | — |
| Length of Fourth Pier | 47 | 6 |
| Breadth of Fifth Arch | 27 | — |
| —————— Pier | 21 | — |
| Length of Fifth Pier | 47 | 6 |
| Breadth of Sixth Arch | 29 | 6 |
| —————— Pier | 21 | — |
| Length of Sixth Pier | 54 | — |
| Breadth of Seventh Arch | 29 | 6 |
| ——————— Pier | 21 | — |
| Length of Seventh Pier | 54 | — |
| Breadth of Eighth Arch | 26 | — |
| —————— Pier | 21 | — |
| Length of Eighth Pier | 54 | — |
| Breadth of Ninth Arch | 32 | 9 |
| —————— Pier | 21 | — |
| Length of Ninth Pier | 54 | — |
| Breadth of Tenth Arch | 25 | 6 |
| ———— Centre Pier | 36 | — |
| Length of Centre Pier | 95 | — |
| Extreme Length of ditto | 125 | — |
Vertue makes the extreme length of this Pier but 115 feet only.
Vertue makes this space 30 feet broad.
| Feet. | Inches. | |
|---|---|---|
| Breadth of Fourteenth Pier | 17 | — |
| Length of Fourteenth Pier | 26 | — |
| Breadth of Fifteenth Arch | 22 | 10 |
| ——————— Pier | 26 | — |
| Length of Fifteenth Pier | 47 | 7 |
| Breadth of Sixteenth Arch | 21 | 10 |
| ———————— Pier | 15 | — |
| Length of Sixteenth Pier | 46 | — |
| Breadth of Seventeenth Arch | 29 | 4 |
| ————————— Pier | 25 | — |
| Length of Seventeenth Pier | 46 | — |
| Breadth of Eighteenth Arch | 24 | — |
| ———————— Pier | 17 | — |
| Length of Eighteenth Pier | 46 | — |
| Breadth of Nineteenth Arch | 27 | — |
| ———————— Pier | 17 | — |
| Length of Nineteenth Pier, North Side | 49 | — |
| Breadth of Twentieth Arch | 15 | — |
The Piers and Arches were both measured from the squares of the latter, the triangular ends being left un-noticed, excepting in the instance of the Great Pier. The length of the whole Bridge was 926 feet; its height, 60; and the breadth of the Street over it, 40 feet.
“Let us now then, my good Sir,” continued Mr. Postern, “ascend to the Platform or Street of the old London Bridge, erected by Peter of Colechurch, and look at the buildings which stood upon it; the most celebrated of which was the famous Chapel dedicated to St. Thomas à Becket, the Martyr of Canterbury, whence it was familiarly called St. Thomas of the Bridge. This was erected upon the Tenth, or Great Pier, which measured 35 feet in breadth, and 115 from point to point; whilst the edifice itself was 60 feet in length, by 20 feet broad, and stood over the parapet on the Eastern side of the Bridge, leaving a pathway on the West, about a quarter of the breadth of the Pier, in front of the Chapel. The face of the building itself was forty feet in height, having a plain gable, surmounted by a cross of about six feet more; whilst four buttresses, crowned by crocketted spires, divided the Western end into three parts. The wide centre contained a rich pointed-arch window, of one mullion, with a quatrefoil in the top; and the two sides were occupied by the entrances to the Chapel from the Bridge-Street, each being ascended by three steps. Such was the general appearance of the West Front of the Chapel on London Bridge.