Blackfriars Railway Bridge was designed in 1862-4 by Joseph Cubitt and F T Turner to carry the London , Chatham and Dover Railway across the Thames to the Metropolitan Railway at Farringdon. The bridge was dismantled in 1984, leaving the red columns in place beside the new bridge.
The first Blackfriars Road Bridge was built in 1769 and was only the third crossing of the Thames (London Bridge was the first, Westminster (1739) the second bridge in central London.) The current bridge, designed by Cubitt, was opened by Queen Victoria in 1869. (Excellent article by LondonHistorians.)
The second railway bridge was built in 1886 and recently gained a roof of photovoltaic panels which provide 50% of the energy needed by the bridge, as well as being a remarkable architectural feature.
You may be interested in
Abandoned Stations
The world’s largest solar-powered bridge (photograph above)
Blackfriars Bridge
runner500
Really interesting, as always – there is a fascinating programme by Dan Cruikshank that is quite often repeated which suggests a really early wooden bridge at Vauxhall plus loads of other interesting stuff – particularly about London Bridge
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jv5nr
http://www.vauxhallandkennington.org.uk/firstbridge.shtml