London Bridge was London's first railway terminus. The station buildings have suffered from subsequent additions and the reluctance of competing railway companies to co-operate.

The first line was the London and Greenwich, whose platforms were to the right of the wall that divides the picture, they subsequently added further platforms. The London and Greenwich company refused their rival, the London Brighton South Coast Railway, permission to use their line, so the latter were forced to build a new adjacent terminal, which evolved into the symmetrical structure left of centre.

The platforms on the far right were added when the South East and Chatham Railway extended to Charing Cross and Cannon Street. The station is approached by no less than eleven parallel lines.