A Description of Westminster Bridge Labelye Paperback Cambridge University Press

A Description of Westminster BridgeTo Which Are Added, an Account of the Methods Made Use of in Laying the Foundations of its Piers\nAuthor(s): Charles Labelye\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781108071956, 978-1108071956\nSynopsis\nThe construction of the first Westminster Bridge, upon which Wordsworth composed his famous sonnet, presented many challenges in terms of the materials and methods with which a sturdy bridge could be built in tidal water and on a gravelly riverbed. A number of candidates presented their surveys to the commissioners of the bridge, but it was the Swiss-born Charles Labelye [tel] who was appointed to oversee construction in 1738. The bridge opened to traffic in 1750. This 1751 publication expands upon the shorter work that Labelye had prepared in 1739 to address the laying of the foundations. Significantly, he used caissons - vast wooden structures sunk into the riverbed.