An Ancient Tradtion

Snapshot answer
It’s a bale of straw dangling from London’s Millennium Bridge, part of an ancient tradition to warn river traffic that repair work is going on. The 900-year-old City Bridge Foundation, the charity responsible for looking after London’s river crossings, explained on X (formerly Twitter) that the longstanding practice was demanded by Port of London Thames Byelaws, adding, “we’re not making this up, honest”. And they’re not. Clause 36.2 requires that during maintenance work, the person responsible must suspend “by day a bundle of straw large enough to be conspicuous and by night a white light”
The Knowledge

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Picklebobble2 · 56-60, M

Back in the day barges were horse drawn and when it came to bridges often the towpath wasn't wide enough for a horse to guide the boat through.
So the bargeman would shore up the barge; untether the horse and walk it round the bridge and then go back to the boat; climb on the roof, lie on his back and walk the barge through the tunnel.
Just to give some context