Robert Havell & Augustus Pugin after William Findlater.

The opening of Waterloo Bridge on the 18th of June 1817.

18½ x 24 inches

The grand opening of Waterloo Bridge came, appropriately on Waterloo Day, only two years after the decisive military victory of Wellington over Napoleon at Waterloo on the 18th of June 1815. Such a panoramic sweep demanded a good vantage point and the amusingly named artist, William Findlater, positioned himself high on the roof of Hoylands Hotel at Salisbury Wharf to ensure he didn't miss a trick. Crowds throng the bridge and foreshore whilst a flotilla of ships pass under the arches, heading east towards St. Paul's and the City beyond.

The bridge was designed by John Rennie and constructed between 1811 and 1817. It was originally to be called the Strand Bridge but when it was opened by the Prince Regent in 1817 it had been renamed by an act of parliament to commemorate Britain's military success. With its nine elliptical arches and pairs of Doric columns it was described by Antonio Canova, the famous Italian sculptor and architect as "the noblest bridge in the world". Sadly, by 1936 it was falling into disrepair and had to be demolished, replaced by the current bridge that was completed in 1942.