The 1014 Viking Attack on London Bridge
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Eleventh century England faced repeated raids and invasions by Danes. As a tribute to the shifting alliances of the day, in 1014 a future King of Norway helped English king Ethelred regain his throne from invading Danes by pulling down London Bridge. The History Guy recalls a dramatic tale in the long history of a bridge that has connected people and history for over two millennia. It is history that deserves to be remembered.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
You can purchase the bow tie worn in this episode at The Tie Bar:
www.thetiebar....
All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by JCG
#londonbridge #thehistoryguy #history
![Tee Grizzley - Robbery 8 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/34_vkNV6wrU/mqdefault.jpg)
Some viewers have objected to calling Sweyn Forkbeard a "Norwegian king." It is a fair criticism. While was king of Norway during the period discussed in the episode, he was also king of Denmark, from a Danish dynasty, and more properly called a Danish King. Some also have noted that Danegold is actually "Danegeld." I apologize for the errors.
Thank you so much History Guy for your content! I'd like to say thanks especially for the effort you put into the stills & artwork you incorporate into the videos, it's very well done! In fact, I get most of my phones backgrounds from screenshotting the artwork you use!
Love the hat on the desk with the mask and the little bowtie drawn on it. Best wishes HGs and hope you stay well.
Two millennia? Wouldn't that be four -- from the First Millennium BCE to the current Third Millennium CE?
I also noticed the droplet mask, as @Capt Termite did. Wear it in good health.
@@johnburt7935 The first permanent bridge was built about 55CE by the Romans, so about 1,965 years ago.
John Burt if the bridge was built in 55 CE it would be just short of 2000 years old.
Technically the 1831 bridge was not entirely reconstructed. Just it's facade. Underneath it was modern reinforced concrete. Still that facade was reconstructed brick by brick. Each brick was stamped with a number to ensure it would be reconstructed as faithfully as possible. A tiny little slice of London in Arizona.
"But then the unexpected happened: He died..." Yeah, I could see where that might throw a monkey-wrench into ones' future-plans...! ☺
bruno640 he died suddenly and historians do not agree over what killed him. He may have been poisoned, may have fallen from a horse, or, by one tradition, he may have been killed in his sleep by the ghost of a king of Mercia who died in 822.
London is an incredible place to visit ! If you are into history it is like a wonderland
Every day he gets a little more grey and looks more and more like a really wholesome teacher, the kind that gets a kid like joy when a quote allows him to curse.
I had never heard any of those stories about London Bridge although, of course, we all played in his children and sang the song that went with it. Thank you once again for your interest in details about forgotten history.
And along with all the other things I learned about English history today, I now have context for a saying about blackmail: "Once you pay danegeld, you will never get rid of the Dane." Thanks, History Guy. Stay safe!
@Findlay Robertson 🤣🤣 If you say so! 🤣🇦🇽✌️
They made them an offer a thousnd years before Don Vito.
Bob Stewart Same with current invaders!
@Findlay Robertson Until, like pretty much all extortion rackets, the victims eventually decided that the price wasn't worth paying any more and got out the weapons to see if they couldn't make trying to collect it hurt more than it was worth.
As a civil engineer and a former Corps of Engineer officer, I truly enjoyed this episode combining bridges and warfare (and the Vikings were kind of pirates since they came by sea). With that background I enjoy your whole series immensely.
I have two ideas for episodes (I hope you didn't do these and I just missed them). One is the Dayton Weekend that designed the B-52 in the Biltmore Hotel in Dayton Ohio. Part of my family tradition on this story is that the Boeing engineers stayed in the hotel due to the blue laws made it difficult to get food or supplies anywhere else.
The second one I think you would tell very well and is history that shouldn't be forgotten is the hanging of Mary the Elephant in Erwin TN.
Keep up the great work
Ray Lemming , rlemming@iit.edu
Please never stop bringing us wonderful history so long as you are able to.
You have made self distancing/quarantine tolerable... I find when I am bored with News, Gossip , films on TV I cruise through RUclips and am happy to learn something of history from you.
My grandmother said " if you do not pay attention to History and things I'm teaching you When trouble or war or epidemics arise you email be lost & stupid " my grandmother was correct!
There are few channels I watch every episode, I proudly watch your content to completion and I appreciate your effort.
Same here.
With respect toThe History Guy, all good stories have Vikings in them!
Well, in reality, the Vikings were pirates too! lol
My brother and I were the first civilians to walk across the London Bridge, after it was reconstructed in Lake Havasu City.
You make history even more interesting than it already was. Thanks again.
I have been across New London Bridge (Arizona) and the modern London Bridge. When you think about it, there can be an enormous amount of history tied to one place and structure. Thanks again, History Guy, for another (forgotten) history lesson.
As always; very interesting and entertaining
I very much enjoyed this video. Thanks for your effort.
Thank you so much History Guy for your content! I'd like to say thanks especially for the effort you put into the stills & artwork you incorporate into the videos, it's very well done! In fact, I get most of my phones backgrounds from screenshotting the artwork you use!
With reference to the many small kingdoms in Europe during the Viking age ... I spent a part of my life at Karmøy, a 40 km long island at the southwest coast of Norway. This island is full of history. Before the Viking age, there were three kingdoms there! Another interesting fact: It was the straight between the island and the mainland that gave Norway its name: "The Way to the North". The first king to rule Norway, Harald Hårfagre, built a mansion on the island, as he could collect tax from the vessels sailing through the strait. King Harald became the great-grandfather of King Olav the Holy, who (probably) participated in the attack on London Bridge.
I wish there were a channel on TV that was dedicated to history. You know, so people can actually learn history and not watch alligator people.
Curiosity Stream and Magellan.TV will do the job for a few pennies.
Also check History Time on RUclips. He makes really great 40-60 minutes videos on history and has the voice of Jon Snow lol.
That's why we have The History Guy!
We used to have such a thing with the History Channel but they switched to sensationilist crap. Like the Travel Channel now only has shows about ghosts.
@@sschmidtevalue Same with Discovery Channel and others.
I'm just guessing, but the guy behind CuriosityStream is the father of Discovery Channel. I have a feeling he was pushed out and that's why he created the new online channel, with great documentaries and no reality TV.
Cnut married Aethylred's widow, Emma of Normandy, who appears to have been a skilled survivor. She also deserves to be remembered.
Ohhhhhhh I love it!!! Cant wait to get home and listen!
Thank You! A Daily dose of The History Guy is keeping me sane(ish)!
London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ. Is worth seeing. Go there and cross the bridge and park. Go to Barley Brothers for home made beer and fantastic food. Walk down to the base of the bridge and admire how each stone was shipped from England and reassembled in its current location. Also at the base is a water taxi to the other side of the lake. It’s a fun ride and it’s free both ways.
Is it true that the Arizonans who bought the bridge thought they were actually buying Tower Bridge? Seems unlikely to me that they would pay out so much and go to so much bother without being absolutely sure what they were buying. Makes a good wee story though.
@@MrTumshie - Purchased by Robert McCulloch in 1967, completed in 1971. Per Wikipedia: __ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City)
@@MrTumshie no, he knew which bridge he was buying.
@@MrTumshie Tower Bridge isn't the sort of thing that the UK would be willing to let go. The then-current London Bridge HAD to go, it was blocking up the critical shipping channel, Tower Bridge is both more iconic and also doesn't do that (being a lift bridge). It was built in the 19th century, and was an engineering marvel when it was built. The only detail I can't seem to find is whether it's called Tower Bridge because it has two towers as essential parts of the structure or because it happens to be close to the Tower of London.
Thanks Lance. I vaguely remember the discovery of the roman bridge remains, so close to the present bridge. I'd heard it said that London arose where the Romans forded the Thames.
Takk, Norge, veldig god!
Thank you King Olaf!
And thank you History Guy for another amazing video!
Great vlog as always! Greetings from Norway! My first name means Thors javelin. Geir= javelin. And what was my fathers name? Tor. My name was accidental due to VERY premature birth.
Why did Thor need a javelin if Mjolnir would always return to his hand when thrown at an enemy?
Ian Holmquist IDK my friend. I tried and look it up in my book, «who is who in norse mythology» Geirr is no mention of. Stay safe, and be safe!
Cool as name bro, you could name your metal band after yourself, a bit like ‘ bon jovi’ (not that they are metal) 🙂✌️❤️
Love your work, you should be on TV ... Maybe a BBC4 documentary
It IS suprising Mrs. Thornblossom's 2nd grade art class dipicting the rulers of the day - survived the centuries.
Thank you for your videos!! I appreciate your unique historical focuses! :)
As a native Arizonan I have seen the bridge at Lake Havasu a few times. It does bring some tourists but not an overwhelming amount given it is not exceedingly well known and frankly Lake Havasu is pretty hot and dry throughout the summer months (and beyond). Definately a neat landmark. Mostly Lake Havasu attracts boaters and the spring break party crowd.
Great video as usual. It always amazes me how much history is carelessly forgotten in modern times.
I don't see that you have ever produced a video on the 1914 Ludlow Massacre. I would love to see your eloquent take on the dramatic events that inspired the Woody Guthrie ballad. I wanted to throw out the Corona Satellite project as well. I just visited one of the remaining calibration targets here recently. It was a neat way to get the family out of the house while maintaining social distancing.
The Ms. did good by the way. The hair looks perfectly passable. I don't think any of us would know if you hadn't told us.
I love your channel. I have learned so much from you. I admit I was bored by history in school & have truly learned more history outside of school. History is so interesting & you certainly help keep the interest alive. Thank you!!
Speaking of Lake Havasu City, how about an episode on Robert Paxton McCulloch, one of America's lesser-known industrial magnates that still had a hand in some memorable bits of history in the US?
Best Channel on RUclips, great work.
Very thorough.
Nice haircut.
Bob Wehner - you noticed his hair cut too! To funny!! My wife gave me a haircut that actually came out pretty good after Googling how to cut a mans hair. It needs another one now because we have been locked up so long!!
Bob Wehner what’s a haircut?
Thank you for an excellent episode re The London Bridge(s)! It pulled together fragments learned over time. Now I can envision the bridge’s history Roman to present day.
Just saw London Bridge a couple months ago in Lake Havasu. Saw the current one a couple of years ago. The Havasu one surprised me because it looks pretty modern.
Once again thank you for a eye opening part of history
Brilliant, I'm almost 55 and I had a musical instrument that played London bridge is falling down when I was about 5 years old.
..."I'm the history guy...I have a degree in history and I LOVE history; if you love history too, this is the place for you!" -Mr. Guy
Very nice! Salamat History Guy!
Thank you, as always. Wish I was student at your lectures. great content and delivery !
Very interesting, thanks for sharing.
I'm impressed by the high-minded things other people learned ... for me: now I understand the Monty Python Spam skit...
I can very strongly recommend a anime called The Vinland Saga it covers pretty much all important events from when Thorkell The Tall sided with the Saxons as a mercenary.
I absolutely loved history as I am a 34th great-grandson of st. Olaf
Thanks again for your wonderful insight into the history of the world. The history of Britain is the most fantastic adventure I’ve ever had the pleasure of researching everyone should have a look at it sometime. 👍🏻🇦🇺
I've seen the London Bridge plenty of times. In the Desert here near Vegas! I took a picture in the 80's on the bridge with a ghost by my right side! That's Spooky
@ned pod I'll say illegal. Man I remember feeling a cool breeze I the desert when this picture was taken there was 5 other people who were there and felt something before we saw the picture.
Did you see the movie "Terror on London Bridge (1985)" ? The soul of the Satanic-evil murderer Jack The Ripper is cast into a stone of London bridge ( for some reason) which is then re-animated in Arizona when the bridge is sold and re-constructed.
If you haven't seen it, DON'T !
It's Goddamned Awful.
Starring David Hasselhoff
I repeat; Goddamned Awful.
@@jakedee4117 I know it's terrible. Thanks for making me remember that!
In a desert you say? Yep, that ghost was a mirage. lol.
That was a deep dive, thank you. :)
You just answered a years long question about a book I read years ago. The moon is a harsh mistress, themain character say " there is an old saying, you can pay Dain gold, but never get rid of dain"
Thank you, HG
Awesome, love your videos.
thanks so much...always worth the watching.
Me after watching Vinland saga: yuuuup ... Been there done that.
Seriously though there's a lot more information here haha nice video as usual.
Interesting history about that bridge. I saw an episode on Time Team looking for the original footings of the first bridge.
I so wish that you could have been my history teacher in high school! Definitely would have gotten better grades.
Great information !!
Vikings or Norsemen were sea raiders. That means pirates. And all good stories have pirates.
You beat me to it, Lewis. Cheers!
@@joem7641 And to you. Stay safe.
Lewis Taishoff aaarrrgghhh!
So the Saints beat both the Vikings and the Raiders. If I could make a connection between the pirates and Buccaneers, my post woul be even dumber.
They weren't pirates, they were people looking to settle in new lands. They were colonisers. Pirates don't built farms and don't found kingdoms on the places they attack.
I already had enough reasons to love this channel!
I love learning about what my ancestors might’ve went through
I have a cheese cutter with a pewter handle depicting Saint Olav which I received on my birthday in Norway while serving there as a missionary. In Norwegian it is inscribed, "Heilig Olav og hans menn", (Saint Olav and his men). I didn't realize that he had conducted warfare in England.
I live at the other end of the A3 near Portsmouth , there's lots of Roman artifacts in the area and a massive Roman villa a few miles away at fishbourne where visitors can see lots of mosaics.
Was great thank you!
Read recently that archaeology near the Thames shows there was an island pre dating the Roman establishment of Londinium. Finds indicate settlement/activity pre dating that city.
Your videos are constant reminders that America's 244 yrs of existence is only an eye blink in the history of the world. Thanks for enlarging our perspective!
The Sioux Nation encompassed more territory than Rome did at the height of its power.
@@shawnr771 What was the Souix Nation range at their height? How is this known from Archeology?
@@stephanieperry1119 Only from oral history.
Very hard to tell the difference between one arrowhead to the other.
Also the height of th
@@shawnr771 OK
@@stephanieperry1119 I apolgize I was wrong in my earlier statement. After your question I researched and found out.
Thank you. When my beliefs and ideas are challenged I go back and do more research.
I love this channel it’s the best
Bloody brilliant
Someone's been watching Vinland Saga.
Someone found himself a barber.
@@Critical-Thinker895 Or perhaps the missus has a bit of practice at it. Traditionally, 'historian' isn't usually a particularly lucrative career, and most people with degrees in it are fortunate if they can get a career as a teacher (because there's always too many history degrees for the number of teaching positions). RUclips has made it much more possible to make a living off of knowing how to extract an interesting, and hopefully fairly unique, narrative from historical sources. (And then there's people who do precisely the same thing from things like Warhammer 40K, a game with a backstory longer than all of recorded history spread across a field vaster than most science fiction empires were ever imagined. The only possibly bigger empires than the Imperium of Man are in Star Wars and the Foundation series, which also span a whole galaxy, the later being the SAME galaxy with different, and much less dangerous, inhabitants.)
i got pretty curious about the strategic importance of the london bridge because i'd somehow never before heard of a fortified river bridge but then that big guy showed up and started chucking logs around and i forgot all about it. i probably wont watch this video yet, it might spoil future vinland saga arcs and currently i cant even tell if its before or after the jelling stone got done cause i cant even remember that blokes name. his burial bumps a nice place for a nap though
Yay!!! Someone from America can say "the river Thames" properly 😁👍, I love this channel so keep up the good work and awesome in-depth research Mr history guy 😊👍
Isn't it pronounced Tames?
I was disconcerted when I lived near New London, Connecticut, on the Thames River, to find that it was NOT the Tems but the Thames, which so I was told was how the river's name was pronounced when the area was first occupied by British in the 1600s. And the town across the river was pronunced GRAH-ton, not GRO-tun.
I had a chip from the scrap from the AZ bridge reconstruction for a while.
Thanks for the vids
Because all great stories have pirates, and the Vikings were the greatest pirates of all!
I think Blackbeard would disagree.
👍 Among the best! 🇦🇽😎
Please cover more of Budica! She is my inspiration in this Quarentine.
Nicely done. Of course, "London Bridge is falling down" must have orginated in historical fact long before the modern era, as you admit there was no peril to bridge for more than 7 centuries.
Thank you for reminding people that the American Southwest has ancient items artifacts and History !
@Findlay Robertson It's American owned and they imported it brick by brick You can even see # on some of the bricks.
@Ivy S compared to the lack of knowledge of the N American continent by most Americans. There's parts that were original and survived from 1209.
Just gotta love the irony of a Danish king helping an English king overthrow another Danish/Viking invader. With just a bit more cooperation, those Viking hordes could have ruled Europe for quite some time - but so is the way of the Viking mind-set: Glory in battle and a trip to Valhalla if you die.
London bridge is falling down,falling down,falling down just so raiders can get an ill advised king back on his throne😁.
Thank you for an interesting video !
thanks
Love the History Guy vids asp ww2. Can you make some on Norman Conquest?
Really loved this one.
Wait, WHAT?
The Vikings attacked Lake Havasu City?
I would have thought that Minnesota would
have attacked Glendale,and not until this fall.
(NFL humor. Hope there is SOME attacking,
the MLB season isn't looking that good.)
steve
They come evey winter armed with meth and casseroles
So I've seen few people mention Harald Hadrada in comments/replies.
So here's how Harald Hadrada Sigurdsson fits here.
Harald Hadrada was alive at this time. A very young child.
He would come in to play decades later.
After Edward the Confessor died, without issues his second cousin, Guillame de Batard: William the Bastard, would make claim to the English Crown.
William was direct blood descendant, as Edward's mother was Emma of Normandy, who was Ethlered's wife (she later became Cnute the Great's wife after Ethelreds death, which will be important momentarily), which meant with Edward's brother Alfred dead, and he with no children, by Anglo Saxon rules of succession, William had the strongest claim to the Crown of England.
However, Edward, being an exile (not to be confused with his nephew, Edward the Exile), meant he'd grown up not in England but Normandy, at a time the Normans were in full Frankish assimilation mode.
Thus it was HE and not Norman kings, who actually began the Franconisation of the English power structures and nobility.
This didn't play well with many Anglo Saxon Nobles, as some only agreed to get Edward back, not as Ethlered's son, but as King Harthacnut of England's older half brother (Harthacnut was the son of Cnute The Great and Emma of Normandy...told you her second marriage would be important).
Thus, when Edward died, the barons consented to Earl Godwin (who's name had become Godwinsson under his father...who also happened to be responsible for the death of Edwards brother, and was an ardent supporter of the Danish Kings, and had become rather Danicised ..he was even named Harold), was hastily made King.
He was half Anglo Saxon and half Danish, indeed a maternal uncle was married to Cnute's sister, making him a nephew of Royal family. Thus an acceptable choice.
However, Edward is said to have promised his crown to his cousin William, whom he was much closer to than any of his English family. Indeed William even had Harold visit, and swear he'd not claim the Crown on Edwards death, Harold agreed (but William was holding his relatives hostage at the time so....make of that what you will).
Thus, when Harold took the Crown, William set sail to win it for himself (even got Papal ascent).
All this time, Harald Hadrada Sigurdsson, had been leading his adventures and riches garnering life, and had successfully become King of Norway.
He wanted a crowning glory however, no pun intended, and decided that neither the Norman Bastard or the Danophile sycophant, could withstand his horde, so he too the aimed to snatch the Crown. Also, he couldn't conquer Denmark, which he'd been trying to do for some time, so you know, he looked for easier prey.
Harald claimed an old accord between Magnus I of Norway and Harthacanute, in which if one died before the other, the survivor got their Kingdom. Of course when Harthacnut died, Magnus never pressed the claim, as he himself died whilst mustering a fleet to do so. He did send a letter, claiming he was the rightful King, though. This was the basis for Harald, who was Magnus' Uncle, to claim the throne.
In September of 1066 Harald, with the support of Harold's own brother, Tostig, who'd been exiled, and 2000 Scottish troops provided by King Malcolm III of Scotland, invaded northern England.
He defeated the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria, and captured York on September 24, the next day, he was met by King Harold II at the Battle if Stamford Bridge.
King Harald Hadrada Sigurdsson of Norway, would die in that battle, on September 25, 1066. He was 51 years old.
King Harold II of England would die himself just a few short weeks later, at the much more famous Battle of Hastings, falling to the forces of William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy.
William of course, would then go on to be known to history as William the Conqueror.
So yeah, if it reminds you Harald Hadrada, that's because this history, plays directly in to his history.
Thanks to a paranoid powermonger called Ethelred, the antithesis of his Great Grandfather.
is that a model of the bastille behind your head? just curious. good vid--as usual!
Good sir, I would prefer timelines as graphics showing the lines of discussed kings and control of England to allow those of us that are visually oriented to grasp the cornucopia of ideas and facts presented.
And bring, allow, coherse back the History Lady.
Yes ! More History Lady !
I’m sure there was a battle near me the battle of Benfleet in Essex, great episode 👍🏼
Home Haircut!! Thanks History Guy!
You should do one about Stamford Bridge.
My mom always used to get upset when my dad’s Danish father would remind us grandkids to be proud of our Viking ancestors. Then she had her DNA tested and found out that her English ancestors were all descended from both Danish and Norwegian Vikings. Guess who’s the proudest descendant of the Vikings of all in my family now?
😂
Your Great-aunt Hildgagrid?
If you believe those DNA test, then you might be interested in this bridge I have for sale....
Even your language came with the Vikings.
My favorite part of the King Canute (Cnut, Knut) story is his son Harthacnut, which to me sounds like Half-a-Cnut. I first heard of him threw an audible Great Courses lecture, and nearly died laughing. Evidently Knut is knot, and Hartha is hard.
Welp, now I know what’s going to happen on the upcoming seasons of Vinland Saga.
These comments are pretty funny :D Thanks!
I was about to make a comment about it x) Historical spoilers ahead I guess.
Historical shows tend to be spoiled...
It already happened
Well done Very well explained
"Or destroyed by a tornado" .......I didn't know that and love how you nonchalantly skipped through it.
This is London, not the land of Tornado Alley. We don't expect these things!
@Tom Sanders Yes, I heard that too. A year or so ago they had one and there was a great meme of a rubbish bin blown over with the headline "We will rebuild". lol.
A bit dissapointed he didn’t mention the involvement of Askeladd and the squad, but great video.
I always wonder who would thumbs down the history guy and why they would. What, you don't like learning, or you don't like history ? Or is it something else?
I was under the impression the the monastery was thoroughly "sacked" with all riches stolen and the monks either murdered or taken as slaves.
colin minhinnick good one👍🏻
@@MW-yh9tm An old one.
It is thought that the monks exagerated to make the Vikings seem more evil - much like the media does today.
It was thoroughly sacked as described.
I read once the sacking of the monastery was a reaction because the Pope passed a decree which forbade trading with pagans. The decree was passed with the intention to stop Constantinople trading with Steppe Pagans. Which would mean to encourage trading with the Arabs instead? Maybe as a concession to the Arabs and to keep peace in Anatolia. But! Since word went out for Christians to stop trading with the Pagans, it negatively affected Danes, Nordes, etc, and to make up for the lost income you get Viking raids. But I only read this from one source. So not 100% on where they got their facts lol
To all those Americans of English and Scandinavian descent., this is as much your history as ours over the pond. Your history didn’t begin with at James Town.
History guy. May 1st is coming soon which is the anniversary of Amtrak Would you do a video on the events leading up to Amtarak and the decline of passenger rail?
I am a proud Dane and a descendant of Canute !
Grate job as all ways.
I'm glad you mentioned the song London Bridge... . I also thought of Cat Stevens' Longer Boats song, that I listened to many times on my Dad's headphones during my teenage years in the 1970's.
This is taken straight off Cat Stevens website yusufislam.com "But in another way, the image of ‘longer boats’ in my mind reminds you of the Vikings and the ships they conquered Britain with. A hint of how we perceive aliens who have different customs to us - thankfully, my mother was Scandinavian, so I never really shook listening to such stories."
As a history nerd I’ve been aware that the Tower Bridge is not the London Bridge. I know a lot of the general public doesn’t know that but I’ve been surprised lately how many times in more enlightened commentary I’ve been hearing the Tower Bridge being called the London Bridge - have many of the experts finally given up?