The first Chelsea Bridge was proposed in the 1840s as part of a major development of marshlands on the south bank of the Thames into the new Battersea Park.

It was a suspension bridge intended to provide convenient access from the densely populated north bank to the new park.

Although well-received architecturally, as a toll bridge it was unpopular with the public, and Parliament felt obliged to make it toll-free on Sundays.

In 1926 it was proposed that the old bridge be rebuilt or replaced, due to the increased volume of users from population growth, and the introduction of the automobile.

[4] Not on any major road, its isolation and lack of any police presence made it a popular destination for visitors from London and Westminster since the 16th century, who would travel to the Red House by wherry, attracted by Sunday dog fighting, bare-knuckle boxing bouts and illegal horse racing.

[4][5] Because of its lawless nature, Battersea Fields was also a popular area for duelling, and was the venue for the 1829 duel between the then Prime Minister the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea.

[4] The town of Chelsea, on the north bank of the Thames about three miles (4.8 km) west of Westminster, was an important industrial centre.

[7] The Chelsea Waterworks Company occupied a site on the north bank of the Thames opposite the Red House Inn.

Founded in 1723, the company pumped water from the Thames to reservoirs around Westminster through a network of hollow elm trunks.

[8] As London spread westwards, the former farmland to the west became increasingly populated,[n 1] and the Thames became seriously polluted with sewage and animal carcasses.

[8] In 1852 Parliament banned water from being taken from the Thames downstream of Teddington, forcing the Chelsea Waterworks Company to move upstream to Seething Wells.

[10] In the early 1840s Thomas Cubitt and James Pennethorne had proposed a plan to use 150,000 tons of rocks and earth from the excavation of the Royal Victoria Dock to infill the marshy Battersea Fields and create a large public park to serve the growing population of Chelsea.

[4][11][12] In 1846 the Commissioners of Woods and Forests purchased the Red House Inn and 200 acres (0.81 km2) of surrounding land, and work began on the development that would become Battersea Park.

[4] It was expected that with the opening of the park the volume of cross river traffic would increase significantly, putting further strain on the dilapidated Battersea Bridge.

[17] The central span was inscribed with the date of construction and the words "Gloria Deo in Excelsis" ("Glory to God in the Highest").

[16] As with the earlier construction of nearby Battersea Bridge,[19] during excavations workers found large quantities of Roman and Celtic weapons and skeletons in the riverbed, leading many historians to conclude that the area was the site of Julius Caesar's crossing of the Thames during the 54 BC invasion of Britain.

[12] In addition, parts of its structure were beginning to work loose,[13] and in 1922 the gilded finials on the towers had to be removed because of concerns that they would fall off.

[13][17] The recently built Battersea Power Station then dominated most views of the area, so it was decided that the bridge's appearance was unimportant.

The outward facing sides of all four posts show the LCC coat of arms of the Lion of England, St George's Cross and the barry wavy lines representing the Thames; the inward faces on the south side show the dove of peace of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea, that on the northwest corner shows the winged bull, lion, boars' heads and stag of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea, and that on the northeast corner the portcullis and Tudor roses of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster.

One member of the Jokers was shot with a sawn-off shotgun and fatally wounded,[32] and 20 of those present were sentenced to between one and twelve years' imprisonment.

[30][35] Chelsea Bridge was declared a Grade II listed structure in 2008, providing protection to preserve its character from further alteration.

[38] The footbridge was built offsite in four sections, transported by road to the King George V Dock where it was assembled, and the completed structure floated down the river and hoisted into position.

[38] It is planned that once the riverfront in the area has been opened to the public, following the completion of the rebuilding of Battersea Power Station into a commercial development, the new bridge will form part of the Thames Path.