A fresh image of the Bridge to Nowhere taken during its construction has just come to the attention of this website. The image appears to have been taken as the bridge was almost complete, probably just before its opening, in the winter of 1905/6.

The image appears in a Camberwell Book of Photographs dated 1906, put together by Camberwell Borough Council, and now part of Southwark Archives, with the reference RES OS 942.1642. The full story of the construction can be found on our page on the Bridge here.

The photograph is taken from on top of a building on the north side of the canal, looking across to the houses on St George’s Way (just visible on the left). The building would have been the sheepskin/fleece factory of Strong and Rawle at that time. This section of the canal has clearly been drained to aid the construction, with a lighter (barge) placed underneath, presumably to allow access over the otherwise muddy canal bed.

Did you spot the two gents standing on boards on the side of the bridge? Presumably working on the bridge, nevertheless they have turned out very smartly for the photographer, in suit and tie! Or perhaps they’re foremen, or one of them is even the Borough Engineer, William Oxtoby, who designed the bridge.

Enhanced image: