City Bridge Foundation is the working name of the historic Bridge House Estates, which originated in the late eleventh century and was formally established by royal charter in 1282 by the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. It is a registered charity governed by a single trustee, the City of London Corporation, represented by the City Bridge Foundation Board.
History
It was originally established to maintain
London Bridge
The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
and, subsequently, other bridges. Funded by bridge tolls and charitable donations, the foundation acquired an extensive property portfolio which made it more than self-sufficient. As well as maintaining the bridges, the foundation also makes charitable grants. It is one of three trust funds managed by the City of London, the other two being the City Fund and the
City's Cash.
Since it was established, the foundation has maintained, and on several occasions replaced, London Bridge. The foundation also built
Blackfriars Bridge and
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...
, and purchased
Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge ( ) is an arch bridge in London, for traffic linking the district of Southwark and the City of London, City across the River Thames. Besides when others are closed for temporary repairs, it has the least traffic of the List of ...
from the toll-exacting private company that built it. Most recently it took over ownership and maintenance of the pedestrian-only
Millennium Bridge, having provided a large amount of the funding for its construction.
The estate owns significant amounts of property in the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
.
Until 1995, the foundation was permitted to use its income only for expenditure on its bridges. However, with a surplus of income over expenditure, a
cy-près scheme was adopted in that year to allow any surplus income to be used for other charitable purposes benefiting
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
.
From 1995 to September 2023 the charity funding arm was known as City Bridge Trust. In September 2023 Bridge House Estates and the City Bridge Trust merged unifying the brand as the City Bridge Foundation, however the formal entity name is still the Bridge House Estates.
Bridge House
The Bridge House Estates took its name from ''Bridge House'', which was the administrative and maintenance centre of Old London Bridge located on the south bank of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
, near the site of
St Olave's Church (since replaced by ''
St Olaf House'' in
Tooley Street
Tooley Street is a road in central London, central and south London, south London connecting London Bridge to St Saviour's Dock; it runs past Tower Bridge on the Southwark/Bermondsey side of the River Thames, and forms part of the A200 road. (. ...
). The site, now covered by the London Bridge Hospital and the Cotton's Centre, was constituted of at least two properties in Southwark. The first was that of Peter of Colechurch the warden of the bridge from 1163, and probably a monastic dwelling. The second property was the house left by the will of
Henry fitz Ailwin, first named Mayor of London, in 1215.
The bridge became part of the City's jurisdiction from 1282, and this led to the City attempting to extend control over
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, succeeding in acquiring the 'vill of Southwark' alias the
Guildable Manor in 1327.
Logo

Known as the ''Bridge Mark'', the
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...
of Bridge House Estates is one of the oldest logos in continuous use and can be found carved into stonework in many places along the riverfront. It has been the identifying emblem of the Bridge House Estates for many centuries, but the latter now uses the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
arms as an emblem.
It was thought likely that the mark as we know it today was designed by a famous 17th-century surveyor,
William Leybourn. It appears drawn on a plan of 1680 which it is thought he adapted from a similar mark drawn against plots owned by Bridge House Estates on an earlier plan of
St George's Fields in Southwark. The City sword rest from the church of
St Olave, Southwark (now in the north transept of
Southwark Cathedral) has the Bridge Mark carved onto it to balance the City's shield, and shows a date of 1674.
Governance
The Bridge House Estates was established by the grant of a
royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
on 24 May 1282,
and the sole
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...
is the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
. The trustee is the legal but not
beneficial owner Beneficial may refer to:
Organizations
* Beneficial Corporation, a consumer finance company founded in 1914 that was ultimately bought by HSBC Corporation
** Beneficial Loan Society, the former name of Beneficial Corporation
** Beneficial Finance, ...
of the trust property—it may only be used for the legitimate purposes for which the fund was created.
Bridge House Estates are run by a committee of the City of London Corporation called the City Bridge Foundation Board (formerly the Bridge House Estates Board). Formed in 2021, the chairship is held by a
Common Councillor on a four-year rotation; the first chair was
Giles Shilson, who was in post until November 2024. The current Chair of the Board is Paul Martinelli.
In addition to its royal charter of 1282, the Bridge House Estates operates with respect to various legislative powers, e.g., the (
26 & 27 Vict. c. lxii), the (
30 & 31 Vict. c. iii), the (
48 & 49 Vict. c. cxcv) for its maintenance role and for its general charitable role under the
Charities (The Bridge House Estates) Order 1995 (
SI 1995/1047), and the
Charities (The Bridge House Estates) Order 2001 (
SI 2001/4017).
Finances
Originally funded by
tolls on London Bridge, the rents and leases of the buildings that were on it and also by charitable donations, the Bridge House Estates acquired an extensive property portfolio which made it self-sufficient.
[
The fund administered by the Bridge House Estates is solely responsible for the five City Bridges. There is no financial support from the government or any other fund. If one of the bridges happened to collapse, the charity would have to rebuild it out of the endowment. The good stewardship of the property and investments of the estates by the City has led to the accumulation of surplus funds over any such demand on its resources. Therefore, the City sought from the Charity Commission to implement a cy-près scheme to extend its objects (purposes) since September 1995 to make charitable grants within the ]Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
area.[
In 2019, total income of the Bridge House Estates was £43.1 million and total expenditure and reinvestment was £53.1 million. The total funds held by the estates are in excess of £1.5 billion.
]
References
External links
City Bridge Foundation
*
{{Authority control
1282 establishments in England
Charitable trusts
Charities based in London
Economy of the City of London
Foundations based in the United Kingdom
Organisations based in the City of London