Albert Bridge including tollbooths, lamp standards and stairs and section of bridge over the Embankment at the north end

The Albert Bridge, built between 1871 and 1873 to designs by Rowland Mason Ordish, is a road bridge spanning the River Thames, with subsequent strengthening and refurbishment in 1884-87 by Sir Joseph Bazalgette, and again in 1972-73 and 2010-11. It is a group value asset, recognised for its exceptional interest.

The bridge is a three-span structure combining suspension and cable-stayed elements. Four cylindrical cast-iron piers support paired cast-iron towers situated outside the roadway, and these towers are connected at the top by a girder and arch. Steel link chains – originally wire steel rope – form the suspension cables, and these connect to sixteen flat wrought-iron diagonal stays which support the deck via steel tie-rods. The timber decking rests on an iron superstructure.

The towers are elaborately decorated in a Gothic style, featuring a central cast-iron cylinder set on a base with an eight-point star plan, resting on the piers and level with the bridge’s cast-iron parapet. Each cylinder is surrounded by eight colonnettes. A lantern sits atop each tower, housing the suspension cable, and is finished with a finial. The girder connecting the towers features ornamental cresting with a central finial. The spandrels of the arch below the beam display floriated tracery decoration, and the panels of the cast-iron parapet are adorned with open roundels featuring similar tracery. Bronze plaques at either end of the bridge state the opening date as 1874, although it opened to traffic in 1873. The bridge is 241 metres long with a central span of 139 metres and a width of 12 metres.

At the ends of the bridge are four original tollbooths, one on each side of the roadway. These pavilion-like buildings are octagonal in plan, with timber panelled sides and engaged octagonal cast-iron columns with dog-tooth capitals. The overhanging octagonal leaded roofs have cast-iron brackets supporting the eaves, echoing the floral design of the bridge’s metalwork. Modern signs on the toll hatches caution that 'All troops must break step when marching over this bridge'. Extending the roadway at the northern end, a bridge with an iron superstructure carries the road over the embankment's footpath. Staircases on either side are balustraded with cast-iron, terminating in piers matching the bridge’s parapet. Sixteen octagonal cast-iron gas lamp standards, originally fitted, run along the bridge's length, each with dog-tooth mouldings and crown finials.

Previously listed under the District of Wandsworth (List entry 1065576), this separate entry was removed on 16 June 2016.