A salted paper print. A view of the newly opened Hungerford Suspension Bridge connecting Lambeth to Hungerford Market. Both brick piers, built in the Italian style, can be seen with the chains suspended between them. In the foreground, dried out on the foreshore of the River Thames, are two dumb barges with spritsail sailing barges dried out behind, their sails furled against the mast and sprit. Further dumb barges are in the distance ashore.

Reverse has been annotated in pencil by Admiral Ballard in 1934: 'Thames Suspension Bridge afterwards transferred to another river'.

This bridge was designed by Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who acted as Engineer in Chief. It was opened without ceremony on Tuesday May 1 1845. (See Illustrated London News, 3 May 1845). The piers were later re-purposed to take the railway line to Charing Cross Station, built on the site of the Hungerford Market. The suspension chains were reused on the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

The original negative for this original print is held at the National Science And Media Museum, Science Museum Collection, reference: 1937-3948.