Richmond Bridge is a Grade I listed 18th-century stone arch bridge
which crosses the River Thames at Richmond, in southwest London,
England, connecting the two halves of the present-day London Borough of
Richmond upon Thames. Because the river meanders from its general west
to east direction to flow from southeast to northwest in this part of
London, what would otherwise be known as the north and south banks are
often referred to as the "Middlesex" (Twickenham) and "Surrey"
(Richmond) banks respectively, after the historic counties to which
each side once belonged. The bridge was built between 1774 and 1777 to
the designs of James Paine and Kenton Couse, as a replacement for a
ferry crossing which connected Richmond town centre on the east bank
with its neighbouring district of East Twickenham (St. Margarets) to
the west. Its construction was privately funded by a tontine scheme, to
pay for which tolls were charged until 1859. The bridge was widened and
slightly flattened in 1937–40, but otherwise still conforms to its
original design. The eighth Thames bridge to be built in what is now
Greater London, it is today the oldest surviving Thames bridge in
London.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Bridge%2C_London>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1462:
Forces led by Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia attacked an Ottoman camp
at night in an attempt to assassinate Mehmed II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Attack>
1982:
The body of Italian banker Roberto Calvi, known as "God's Banker" due
to his close association with the Vatican, was found hanging from
scaffolding beneath London's Blackfriars Bridge.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Calvi>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
duteous (adj):
(archaic) Obsequious; submissively obedient
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/duteous>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Our security strategies have not yet caught up with the risks we are
facing. The globalization that has swept away the barriers to the
movement of goods, ideas and people has also swept with it barriers
that confined and localized security threats.
--Mohamed ElBaradei
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mohamed_ElBaradei>