In 1860 the London Chatham & Dover Railway (LDCR) obtained authority to build an extension from its existing station at Beckenham to Ludgate Hill in the City of London. The new railway line was to cross the Thames beside Blackfriars Road Bridge. It was destined to become part of an important north/south line, precursor of Thameslink.
Since the road bridge was being rebuilt by Joseph Cubitt, it was agreed that he should design both bridges, the City corporation being concerned that the spans of the two bridges should coincide. Work started on the railway bridge in 1862 and it opened in December 1864. It was a wrought-iron lattice girder structure with the spans supported by masonry abutments and composite piers. The supports had ornate Romanesque capitals and were decorated with large, brightly coloured shields incorporating the coat of arms of the LCDR.
For six months in 1864 the terminus had been on the south side of the bridge at a station called Blackfriars Bridge. The bridge carried only four tracks and the railway served Ludgate Hill Station. This station was squeezed onto a viaduct and was notoriously cramped, serving as a through station for trains of the Great Northern, London & South Western and Midland railways as well as being a terminus for the LCDR. Accordingly in an effort to increase capacity, in 1874 Holborn Viaduct station was opened as a terminus for the LCDR at the end of a short branch from Ludgate Hill. At the same time a new station was built north of Ludgate Hill and close to Holborn Viaduct. This station was underground and was named Snow Hill. In 1912 it was renamed Holborn Viaduct Low Level, and in 1916 it was closed when passenger services through the tunnel north of Ludgate hill were terminated.
In 1881 authority was obtained to build a second railway bridge beside the first. Designed by W. Mills, the new wrought-iron bridge opened in 1886 on the downstream side of the original. Its spans matched the old bridge. This bridge, strictly St Paul's Bridge, served a new combined terminus and through station on the north bank of the river called St Paul's. At this point Blackfriars Bridge Station on the south bank was closed. St Paul's Station served as both a local and main line station and its original structure, damaged in World War II and now dismantled, bore the names of far-away destinations such as Geneva, Vienna and St Petersburg engraved in its stonework.
Thus for 30 years from 1886 to 1916 the LCDR had four passenger stations and a goods station all within a mile of one another on either side of the bridge, from the north:
Snow Hill (later Holborn Viaduct Low level)
Holborn Viaduct
Ludgate Hill
St Paul's
Blackfriars Bridge (goods)
Following the re-organisation of the railways in 1923, the new Southern Railway decided to concentrate all its long-distance and Continental traffic at Waterloo and Victoria. As a result St Paul's Station lost all but its local and suburban services, and in 1929 Ludgate Hill Station was closed.
In 1937 St Paul's Station was renamed Blackfriars Station and the St Paul's Railway Bridge lost its identity to become just a widening of Blackfriars Railway Bridge.
However, by the mid-20th century the original 1864 bridge was considered too weak to carry modern trains and the now obsolete structure was eventually dismantled in 1984. Blackfriars Bridge Station, closed in 1885 but operated as a Goods Station until 1964, was redeveloped. St Paul's Station was renamed Blackfriars. In 1990 Thameslink Station replaced Holborn Viaduct as well as fulfilling the former role of Ludgate Hill.
Today all that is left of the original bridge are the ornate red columns still standing in the river and the cast-iron shields bearing the insignia of the LCDR.
By Road:The remains of the bridge can readily be seen from the Blackfriars Road Bridge.
By Rail: to Blackfriars station and then on foot. The remains of Blackfriars Bridge Station are evident on Blackfriars Bridge Road. Remnants of Ludgate Hill Station are hard to see. The entrance to Snow Hill Station is still visible on Snow Hill. Holborn viaduct has been lost to redevelopment and Thameslink.
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