Maintenance workers on London’s Millenium Bridge – which spans the River Thames – have hung a bale of straw from the bridge’s undercarriage.
An ancient byelaw requires that a bridge’s owner warn passing ships of any reduction in headroom beneath the bridge with a white light at night and, during the day, a straw bale, “large enough to be conspicuous”, suspended from its span.
The City Bridge Foundation, which has, in its own words “been bridging London for a long time”, duly complied, sourcing a bale from an Essex farmer. This practical provision is just one survivor of the river’s long history as a distinct jurisdiction with its own laws and customs.
-copy-29e15046.jpeg?w=600)
