LONDON WEEKEND BREAKS - Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is one of London's most famous landmarks and it was built over an eight year period starting in 1886. Aside from its unique appearance, what makes this bridge unusual is the fact that it combines two different types of bridge building designs, the suspension and the bascule method.

The bascule design is used in the centre section between the towers and this allows the bridge to be opened up for shipping traffic.

The other two sections of the bridge, either side of this central bascule portion, use a suspension (cable) system and they are of a fixed height.

Origin of Tower Bridge

By the mid to late nineteenth century it was becoming vital that an additional bridge be constructed at the "now" site of Tower bridge. However, the design for Tower Bridge was not without controversy.

As was sometimes the case with projects of this kind a competition was instigated for the design but, as was (and still is) also often the case, the winner was one of the judges, Horace Jones.

Jones was not only the winner, but also the City Architect making the whole process look fixed. For His part Jones dies only a year after building started and was therefore never able to see his landmark design realised.

Opening and statistics

Tower Bridge was opened on 30 June 1894 by King Edward VII and connected the north and south sides of the river. The bridge is 800 feet in length by 213 feet in height and the bascule section, which divides into two, has a total spanning width of 200 feet.

At the time that the bridge was built the lowering and raising mechanism of the bascule sections were powered by water based hydraulics. In the context of a nineteenth century world, this made them ground breaking given the weight, approx 1000 tones each, of the two bascule sections that had to be lifted.

In later years this original water based hydraulic system was replaced by an electric alternative, however the original plant is still visible and, although it no longer functions, remains as it did when fist built.

The external appearance of the bridge has also changed somewhat, not least when it was repainted in red, white and blue for the 1977 Queen's sliver Jubilee.