Home » Mill writing » Corn Mills on London Bridge
November 27 2010 by Fred Atkins (1846 views)
Research & Watermills
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This nice stamp shows old London Bridge. I know that there were at some time waterwheels under the arches and I am trying to find out more about the London Bridge corn mills. Can anyone help?
Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge#.22Old.22_.28Medieval.29_London_Bridge ) states:
The medieval bridge had 19 small arches and a drawbridge with a defensive gatehouse at the southern end. Contemporary pictures show it crowded with buildings of up to seven stories in height. The narrowness of the arches meant that it acted as a partial barrage over the Thames, restricting water flow and thereby making the river more susceptible to freezing over in winter because of the slower currents. The current was further obstructed by the addition of waterwheels (designed by Peter Morice) under the two north arches to drive water pumps, and under the two south arches to power grain mills. This produced ferocious rapids between the piers or "starlings" of the bridge, as the difference between the water levels on each side could be as much as six feet (two metres).[6] Only the brave or foolhardy attempted to "shoot the bridge"—steer a boat between the starlings—and many were drowned trying to do so. As the saying went, the bridge was "for wise men to pass over, and for fools to pass under".
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