Albert Bridge Notice : All Troops Must Break Step When Marching Over This Bridge.
Designed and built by Rowland Mason Ordish in 1873 as an Ordish–Lefeuvre Principle modified cable-stayed bridge, it proved to be structurally unsound, and so between 1884 and 1887 Sir Joseph Bazalgette incorporated some of the design elements of a suspension bridge.
Built as a toll bridge, it was commercially unsuccessful; six years after its opening it was taken into public ownership and the tolls were lifted. The tollbooths remained in place however, and are the only surviving examples of bridge tollbooths in London. Nicknamed "The Trembling Lady" because of its tendency to vibrate when large numbers of people walked over it, signs at the entrances warn troops from the nearby Chelsea Barracks to break step while crossing the bridge. Concerns about the risks of mechanical resonance effects on suspension bridges, following the 1831 collapse of the Broughton Suspension Bridge and the 1850 collapse of Angers Bridge, led to notices being placed at the entrances warning troops to break step (i.e., not to march in rhythm) when crossing the bridge; although the barracks closed in 2008, the warning signs are still in place today.
Filmed by Aude Rain © 2012 Aude Rain