The current Grade II listed bridge was finished in 1869 and consists of five wrought iron arches built to a design by Thomas Cubitt. It replaced the first bridge on this site built in 1769, a toll bridge originally named after the Prime Minister William Pitt although soon changed to honour the nearby Blackfriars Monastery.

The bridge became notorious in 1982 when the Italian banker Roberto Calvi was found hanged below one of its arches in an apparent suicide. Dubbed by the press as "God's Banker", due to his close association with the Vatican, Calvi was the chairman of Banco Ambrosiano which collapsed in one of modern Italy's biggest political scandals. His death has been the source of enduring controversy. Calvi's death was ruled as murder after two coroner's inquests and an independent investigation, and, in June 2007, five people were acquitted of his murder after a trial in Rome. Claims have been made that Calvi's death involved the Vatican Bank (Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder), the Mafia and the Propaganda Due or P2 masonic lodge.

The bridge's piers feature stone carvings by sculptor John Birnie Philip. The East side shows marine life and seabirds while the west side has freshwater birds - reflecting the role of Blackfriars as the tidal turning point. On the north side of the bridge is a statue of Queen Victoria to whom the bridge was dedicated.