In the heart of the great city, where the Thames pulses like an artery of empires, there once stood a marvel of the world that embodied the audacious spirit of Britain: Old London Bridge. Not the bland concrete span we cross today, but the medieval masterpiece that was a city unto itself, teeming with shops, houses, chapels, a palace and a drawbridge for the tall ships of yore. For over 600 years, from 1209 until its demolition in 1831, it was more than a crossing: it was a symbol of the city’s ingenuity, commerce and communal life. Multi-storey timber-framed buildings lined the way, merchants hawked wares from overhanging galleries, the river roared below as water thundered through the cataracts of its 19 arches. It was alive, unique, dangerous, magnificent – quintessentially British.