Bridge (City of London ward)

[4] In 1550 the new ward of Bridge Without was created to cover the city's area of control of three manors in Southwark (the newly acquired King's Manor and Great Liberty added to the Guildable Manor which it had controlled since 1327), the Court of Aldermen appointing its alderman; there were never any members of the Court of Common Council elected there as the three Courts Leet of the Manors fulfilled that representative role.

However, the city's administrative responsibility for the Without ward had in practice disappeared by the mid-Victorian era as various aspects of metropolitan government were extended into the neighbouring areas.

Despite the fact that the area of Bridge Without had been removed completely from the city's boundaries in 1899, the ward continued to de jure exist and the Court of Aldermen continued to appoint an alderman for the ward by co-option, usually the senior emeritus Lord Mayor (or father of the city) until as late as 1978[5] — Bridge Without was then merged with Bridge Within, to become the present day Bridge ward.

[6] This had no practical effect in terms of representation on the Court of Common Council because Without had never had Councilmen.

[7] The area of the former Bridge Without ward today forms part of the London Borough of Southwark.

London Bridge viewed from Southwark : the Great Stone Gateway at the very southern end of the bridge formed the boundary between Within and Without.
A 1720 map showing the wards of Bridge Within and neighbouring Billingsgate .