Thread by @MiningNS

In honour of the victims of yesterday's terror attack on #LondonBridge, a repeat of our history of that iconic bridge:

Remember the #nurseryrhyme "London Bridge is falling down"? Here's the story of #London Bridge!

#nspoli #NovaScotia #mining #ns #minerals #geology

There's been a series of bridges across the #RiverThames in #London since #Roman times, 2000 years ago. They were wooden till a stone one was built between 1176 and 1209.

#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS #mining #minerals #geology #builtheritage

The 1176 #LondonBridge stood over 600 years. The heads of traitors were impaled on it - so many that there was an official Keeper of the Heads! The first head, in 1305, was that of #WilliamWallace, the #Scottish solider #MelGibson played in #Braveheart.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #NS

A new #LondonBridge was completed in 1831. It was made of #granite from #Haytor Quarry, which is now part of the #Dartmoor National Park.
Its lamps were made from the melted-down cannons of #NapoleonBonaparte's army.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #minerals #mining #NS #reclamation #geology

Over time #LondonBridge started sinking at a rate of 3 centimetres every 8 years due to the weight of its #granite stone and increasing traffic. By 1924, the east side of the bridge was 9-12 cms lower than the west side. A new one was needed.
#nspoli #NovaScotia #minerals #mining

Construction on a new #LondonBridge began in 1968. The old one was bought for $2.5 million to be a tourist attraction in #LakeHavasuCity, #Arizona. The bridge's 10,276 exterior #granite blocks were numbered, shipped and reassembled in #LakeHavasu over 3 years.
#nspoli #mining #NS

The inside of #LondonBridge - the one in #Arizona - is hollow because it was rebuilt with a #steel framework faced with #granite. This reduced its weight from 130,000 tons to 30,000 tons, while strengthening the structure in order to accommodate vehicular traffic.
#nspoli #NS

Today's #LondonBridge – the one actually in #London! - is made of #concrete and #steel. It opened in 1973.

#nspoli #NovaScotia #mining #minerals #heritage #history #builtheritage #geology