Bridge House Estates

The Bridge House Estates are a charitable trust, established in 1282 by the City of London Corporation in the English city of London. It was originally established to maintain London Bridge and, subsequently, other bridges. Funded by bridge tolls and charitable donations, the trust acquired an extensive property portfolio which made it more than self-sufficient. As well as maintaining the bridges, the estates also make other charitable grants through the City Bridge Trust, their grant-making arm.

Since it was established, the trust has maintained, and on several occasions replaced, London Bridge. The trust also built Blackfriars Bridge and Tower Bridge, and purchased Southwark Bridge from the toll-exacting private company that built it. Most recently it took over ownership and maintenance of the new pedestrian-only Millennium Bridge, having provided a large amount of the funding for its construction.

Until 1995, the trust was only permitted to use its income for expenditure on its bridges. However with a surplus of income over expenditure, a cy-près scheme was adopted in that year to allow any surplus income to be used for other charitable purposes benefiting Greater London. These grants are made though the City Bridge Trust.