Tower bridge London, the World’s most Iconic Suspension Bridge
Tower Bridge, is an archetypal London landmark and one of the world’s most recognizable suspension bridges. Although there are 33 bridges that cross the River Thames, Tower Bridge is the most famous due to its iconic structure consisting of two towers and two walkways, its unique glass floor and, most importantly, its central lifting sections which allow ships to pass underneath.
Standing majestically over the River Thames, it is often confused with London Bridge. However, this is not the case. London Bridge, is a much plainer, newer bridge half-a-mile upstream. Tower Bridge is so named because it stands next to the Tower of London. Another misapprehension is that Tower Bridge is medieval. It was actually built in 1894 in the Neo-Gothic style to blend in better with its neighbouring buildings.
The Bridge is open to the public, where the engine room and the walkways can be explored and panoramic views across London can be enjoyed. It is one of the top tourist attractions with something like 40,000 people visiting each day.
Construction and Design
During the late 19th century the demand for a new river crossing to the east of London was high. A committee was formed to decide the best site and design in 1877. One important criteria was that any bridge should not prevent the access of sailing ships passing upstream to the port facilities that lay between the Tower of London and London Bridge and that it should provide better access to the East End of London where commercial potential was greatly expanding. A competition was held for the design and over 50 designs were submitted with none of them being successful. Finally, one design, by the architect Sir Horace Jones (who had designed some of the important markets in London, including Smithfield and Leadenhall Market) and the civil engineer Sir John Wolfe Barry, was selected.
Construction began in 1886 and took 432 workmen a total of 8 years to complete. The cost of its construction was £1,184,000 which, in today’s money equals £152,616,515. In 1894 it was formerly opened by Prince Edward, Prince of Wales and Alexandra, Princess of Wales and, at that time, it was seen as the most sophisticated bascule bridge in the world.
Tower Bridge is 250 metres long and 7 metres in width. Each of its towers are 65 metres high which are connected at the upper level by two horizontal walkways, and a central pair of bascules that can open to allow shipping to pass underneath. These two sections are raised up to an angle of 83 degrees. These bascules were originally operated by a hydraulic mechanism, using coal burning steam engines. In 1972 these were replaced by an electro-hydraulic system. The word ‘bascule’ derives from the French word for see-saw and it is not difficult to understand why the word is used for this type of construction.
The bridge consists of more than 11,000 tons of steel and more than 70,000 tons of concrete were required for the foundations needed to support the structure. It also used over 31 million bricks and 2 million rivets. Each levered section of the bascule weights more than 1,100 tons. The bascules are opened at least once every day and sometimes around 3 times. Ships have the right of way but they need to give 24 hours notice to the City of London officials if they need them to be opened to pass underneath. However, it takes only 5 minutes to raise the bridge when required. Underneath the bridge is a huge secret chamber housing heavy counterweights which serve to balance the bascule. Since 2015 this space, with fantastic acoustics, has occasionally been used as a venue for special public concerts.
The original colour that the bridge was painted was brown. In 1977, to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee it was given a colourful transformation and painted red, white and blue. Since then, it has had another major facelift and now sports the cheerful bright blue and white paintwork we see today. The two upper walkways were designed so that pedestrians could still cross when the bascules were open. However, the public did not use them often and the walkways began to be used as an informal red light district. Hence, in 1910, the walkways were closed to the public. However, they reopened in 1982 and can be visited as part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
Today, Tower Bridge is part of the London Inner Ring Road and is an important traffic route with over 40,000 daily crossings. The deck of the bridge is used by traffic and pedestrians but the high level walkways and the Victorian engine rooms are part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
Interesting Incidents.
Over the decades, Tower Bridge has witnessed some interesting and strange incidents. Many of them exhibiting bold and daring escapades, some deliberate and some accidental.
A mere 18 years after it opened a pilot named Frank McClean flew his short biplane in between the bascules and the walkways during an emergency, fortunately this was successful and since that time several stunt pilots have flown underneath the bridge. He became an overnight celebrity and went on to carry out similar stunt flights underneath other London bridges. In 1917 a man, Thomas Hans Orde-Lees, safely parachuted off the bridge into the river below. His aim was to show the benefits of using parachutes for RAF pilots and this stunt is considered to be the momentum that led to the founding of the Royal Parachute Regiment. Tower Bridge was also seen as a major target for enemies during the two World Wars of the 20th century. Security was increased at the London ports and the strength of the bridge was reinforced. Although minor attacks did occur by enemy fire on the bridge, fortunately this did not affect its functionality.
In December 1952, the bridge opened whilst Albert Gunter was driving his number 78 double-decker bus over it. Normally, this type of incident would be avoided as the gateman would ring a warning bell to close the gates to traffic, ensuring it was safe for the watchman to order the bridge to be raised. On this day, a relief watchman was on duty and the process failed. The bus was close to the edge of the south bascule when it began to rise. Albert Gunter had to make a split second decision and put his foot down to accelerate and leap over the opening 3ft gap with a drop of 6 ft. into the river below. Fortunately, the north bascule had not begun to rise and he landed the bus safely on the other side. He was given the equivalent of £290 pounds by the City Corporation for his bravery and quick thinking, and his employer, London Transport, gave him the following day off.
The next two incidents are equally dramatic but less heroic. On 5 April 1968, a Royal Air Force Hawker Hunter FGA.9 jet fighter from No. 1 Squadron made an unauthorised flight through Tower Bridge. Unimpressed that senior staff were not going to celebrate the RAF’s 50th birthday with a flypast, the pilot flew at low altitude down the Thames without authorisation, past the Houses of Parliament, and continued on towards the bridge. He flew beneath the walkway, at an estimated 300 miles per hour (480 km/h). He was placed under arrest upon landing, and discharged from the RAF on medical grounds without the chance to defend himself at a court martial.
On 31 July 1973, a single-engine Beagle Pup was twice flown under the pedestrian walkway of Tower Bridge by 29-year-old stockbroker’s clerk Peter Martin. Martin, who was on bail following accusations of stock market fraud, then “buzzed” buildings in the city before flying north towards the Lake District, where he died when his aircraft crashed some two hours later
The next incident gives proof that ships have the right of way to go under the bridge, regardless of who wishes to cross over. In May 1997, the motorcade of United States President Bill Clinton was split up by the opening of the bridge. The Thames sailing barge ‘Gladys’, on her way to a gathering at St Katharine Docks, arrived on schedule and the bridge was opened for her. Returning from a Thames-side lunch at Le Pont de la Tour restaurant with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Clinton was less punctual and arrived just as the bridge was rising. The bridge opening divided the motorcade in two, much to the consternation of security staff.
Amusingly, on 19 August 1999, Jeff Smith, a Freeman of the City of London, drove a flock of two sheep across the bridge. He was exercising a claimed ancient permission, granted as a right to Freemen, to make a point about the powers of older citizens and the way in which their rights were being eroded. Another example of the bridge being used to highlight a protest involved David Chick on 31st October 2003. Chick was a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner, and to make his point he climbed a 100-foot (30 m) tower crane near Tower Bridge at the start of a six-day protest dressed as Spider-Man. Fearing for his safety, and that of motorists should he fall, police cordoned off the area, closing the bridge and surrounding roads and causing widespread traffic congestion across the City and East London.
Finally, and unusually, on 9 August 2021, the bridge remained open after a technical failure. The bridge had opened to let the Jubilee Trust Tall Ship through before getting stuck. The bridge was closed and reopened to traffic approximately 12 hours later.
Visiting the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
As a pedestrian or driver of a vehicle you can pass over the bridge free of charge. However, to access the upper walkways with their glass floors and see the Victorian engine room you need to purchase tickets for the Tower Bridge Exhibition. This exhibition gives visitors a deep insight into Tower Bridge’s unique and rich history where you can learn about how the bridge actually works. Today, it is visited by more than 40,000 visitors every day, making it one of the top attractions of London. Try to visit the bridge when it is being raised so you can catch a view of this through the Glass Door. The scheduled lift times are posted on the Tower Bridge website. https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/lift-times. Its worth noting though that the best place to view the raising of the bridge is from the riverbanks so perhaps visit the exhibition after it has been raised. Although there are scheduled lift times the vessel passing through may arrive early so it is prudent to arrive 10-15 minutes before the scheduled raising time.
Opening Times: 09:30 – 17:00 (last admission ) and expect to spend about 1 hour. The best time to visit is the early morning on weekdays when it is less busy. Ticket prices are £10.60 for an adult, £5.30 for a child (£4.00 for a disabled child) and Students with ID are charged £7.90.
The nearest tube station to Tower Bridge is either Tower Hill or London Bridge Underground station.