A View of London Bridge before the Late Alterations

A View of London Bridge before the Late Alterations, painted in 1758, records the medieval bridge immediately before the removal of its houses and shops began. This view is among the last reliable depictions of London Bridge in its medieval form, as the houses were stripped away between 1758 and 1762, transforming the bridge from a congested medieval street to an open thoroughfare. Scott's Thames views constitute the most comprehensive pictorial survey of London's riverside ever undertaken by a single artist.

Scott renders every detail of the bridge's crowded superstructure with documentary precision, the jutting upper stories and varied rooflines of the houses creating the picturesque skyline that would soon be lost to modernization.