Discover London Bridge at St Magnus the Martyr
Many pass beneath city skyscrapers, unaware that the original entrance to medieval London Bridge still stands—memorialised at St Magnus the Martyr, beside the Thames. Here, you encounter a painstakingly detailed scale model that brings to life a bridge so renowned that it amazed chroniclers, merchants, and royalty for centuries.
Why the Model Matters
This model transports visitors straight into the heart of medieval London. It does more than spark nostalgia—it animates the city’s story over six centuries. Step closer and explore how expert sources, vivid artefacts, and first-hand accounts reveal London Bridge’s role as the city’s living heart.
St Magnus the Martyr: Home of the Model
St Magnus the Martyr church sits where the northern entrance to London Bridge once greeted travellers from Southwark and beyond. The church served as a hub of spiritual and civic life, and today, the model reconnects you with the bridge’s pivotal place in London’s history.
Engineering Marvel: Building the Bridge
Medieval engineers began work in 1176, under Peter of Colechurch, and completed the first stone crossing of the Thames in 1209. The bridge measured about 926 feet long and featured 19 arches plus a drawbridge arch for shipping. Timber and stone starlings narrowed the river, making passage treacherous yet spectacular. By the fifteenth century, 200 houses and shops lined the bridge, creating a thoroughfare as busy as any city street.
Meet Three Chroniclers
William FitzStephen: London’s First Urban Biographer
William FitzStephen (d. c. 1191), a cleric in the household of Thomas Becket, provided one of the most detailed surviving portraits of twelfth-century London. Historians rely on his lively writing for insights into the city’s trade and community.
“There is in London, on the River Thames, a bridge… with strong piles, erected with wonderful skill, and ‘a public eating house on the riverbank’ near the bridge, where one can buy food according to one’s means, suitable for both the poor and the rich… Here, according to the season, you may find victuals of all kinds, roasted, baked, fried, or boiled… It is a public eating-house, and is both highly convenient and useful to the city, and is a clear proof of its civilization.”
Snorri Sturluson: Icelandic Poet and Historian
Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) chronicled Norse mythology and Scandinavian royalty in works such as the Prose Edda and Heimskringla. His saga preserves the legendary Viking assault that inspired the rhyme “London Bridge is falling down.”
“There was, at that time, a Bridge erected over the River between the City and Southwark, so wide, that if two carriages met they could pass each other… King Olaf fastened cables to his ships and to the bridge piles beneath; his men rowed mightily… The piles were torn from their places, part of the bridge collapsed and many defenders fell into the river or were slain, so the Norsemen and their allies forced passage, marking the fall of the bridge and the city’s surrender.”
John Norden: London’s Tudor-Era Topographer
John Norden (c. 1547–1625), an English cartographer and antiquary, mapped many counties and described monuments in impressive detail. His words connect Tudor and medieval London and highlight London Bridge’s reputation.
“Among manie Famous monuments within this realm none Deserveth more to be sett before the World’s view than this londen bridge… as by reporte the fame of it is spred through manie nations. London Bridge, furnished with stately gates, towers, and houses on both sides, strongly built upon 20 arches, is rather termed a continual street than a bridge… Such a bridge is rare to be found in any other city, it is thought a marvel by all foreigners and strangers. Among the wonders of England, London Bridge may truly be accounted one of the chiefest.”
The Bridge in Daily Life
Medieval accounts bring the bridge’s history alive. London Bridge functioned as more than a crossing—it thrived as a street, marketplace, and showpiece in the city’s landscape. The accounts above reveal crowded houses, bustling markets, and the drama of royal processions and attacks.
Details and Significance of the Model
David Aggett constructed the model in 1987, drawing from historic records and illustrations. The scene features houses, shops, gatehouses, St Thomas’s chapel, bridges packed with residents, and boats navigating the perilous arches. Visitors see history in physical form and understand the bridge’s significance.
Lasting Legacy
Medieval London Bridge defined London’s trade, traffic, and daily rhythm, enduring for more than 600 years. Its story echoes in rhyme and legend. St Magnus the Martyr preserves this heritage beside fragments of the original bridge.
Anyone interested in London’s history or medieval engineering should visit. The model and these accounts prove the bridge remains a lasting marvel—one that shaped the City’s fortunes and imagination.
Book walk tickets to explore Medieval London Recommended Reading: Chronicles of London Bridge by Thomson, Richard, 1794-1865
