The famous “old” stone London Bridge built in the Middle Ages took a little over three decades to complete, while the modern concrete London Bridge took about five years to build. When people ask “how long did it take to build London Bridge,” they are usually referring to one of these major versions.

Quick Scoop

  • The medieval stone London Bridge begun under Peter of Colechurch in 1176 was finished in 1209, so construction took about 30–33 years.
  • John Rennie’s 19th‑century London Bridge was built between the mid‑1820s and 1831, which is roughly 7 years of construction.
  • The current modern London Bridge over the Thames was constructed from 1967 to 1972, so it took about 5 years to build.

Which London Bridge?

There have been several successive London Bridges on roughly the same site, so the building time depends on which one is meant.

Most casual questions online are about either the medieval bridge with houses or the present 1970s concrete bridge, both of which became iconic in different eras.

Medieval Stone Bridge (1209)

  • Work on the first great stone London Bridge started in 1176 and was completed in 1209, giving a build time of around 33 years.
  • This bridge, crowded with shops and houses, then stood for more than six centuries, making the long construction investment highly significant for medieval London.

Rennie’s 19th‑Century Bridge

  • John Rennie’s stone-arch London Bridge was begun in the 1820s, with the foundation stone laid in 1825 and the bridge opened in 1831, about 6–7 years later.
  • This structure is the one that was later sold, dismantled, and transported to Lake Havasu City in Arizona in the late 1960s.

Modern 1970s London Bridge

  • The current bridge in London was built from 1967 to 1972 using concrete and steel, a project duration of about 5 years before its opening in 1973.
  • It replaced the 19th‑century Rennie bridge on the same crossing and was designed with fewer piers and wider spans to improve navigation on the Thames.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.