Old London Bridge Coat Of Arms

myminifactory

A coat of arms that was once on Old London Bridge (Stonegate) and is now on the front of the Kings Arms pub on Newcomen Street, London. It depicts a lion and a unicorn. Date: 1728? This is a finely detailed piece of sculpture and you don't have to look too close to see that the lion and the unicorn are what, in the language of heraldry is known as 'pizzled', a quite common sight on coats of arms until the Victorians arrived. This coat of arms was added to Stonegate, at the southern end of Old London Bridge as part of some construction work in 1728. To enable road widening all the buildings on the bridge were demolished by 1760 including Stonegate but this coat of arms was rescued and re-erected on this pub, of which the current building was erected in 1890. Either the pub was already called the "King's Arms" and wanted the coat of arms because it was a ready-made sign, or, they were so delighted with the acquisition that they renamed the pub in celebration. (text credit) 28 photos taken (from ground level) in September 2020 with a Sony a6000 and processed in Reality Capture.