It was an Act of Parliament in 1766 that authorised Earl Spencer to build a river crossing between Battersea and Chelsea on the River Thames. The Earl, who operated a ferry service at the time, did not have sufficient money to build a stone bridge so the original structure was made of timber. In 1886 Sir Joseph Bazalgette the legendary designer of the London sewer system built a new five span steel and iron cantilever bridge which still stands today.
