London Bridge built on Woolpacks

In the reign of Henry II. the new stone bridge over the Thames was paid for by a tax on wool.

⁂ There was a bridge over the Thames in the tenth century. There was a new one of wood in 1014. The stone bridge (1176–1209) was by Peter of Colechurch. New London Bridge, constructed of granite, was begun in 1824, and finished in seven years. It was designed by Sir John Rennie, and cost £1,458,000. In 1894 was opened a new bridge, called the Tower Bridge, to admit of easier traffic.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.