Originally, London Bridge was the only crossing over the Thames. As London grew, so more bridges were added, but these were all to the west of London Bridge, since the area east of London Bridge had become a busy port. In the 19th century, the east ens of London became so densely populated that public pressure mounted for a bridge to the east of London Bridge, as journeys for pedestrians and vehicles were being delayed literally by hours.

Finally in 1876, the Corporation of London, who were responsible for that part of the Thames, decided that the problem could be put off no longer.

The big problem for the Corporation of London was how to build a bridge downstream from London Bridge without disrupting river traffic activites. To get as many ideas as possible, the Special Bridge or Subway Committee was formed in 1876, and opened the design of the new crossing to public competition. Over 50 designs were put forward for consideration, some of which you can see when you visit the Tower Bridge Exhibition. However, it was not until October 1884 that Horace Jones, the City Architect, in collaboration with John Wolfe Barry, offered the chosen design for Tower Bridge as a solution.

It took 8 years, 5 major contractors and the relentless labour of 432 construction workers to build Tower Bridge.

Two massive piers had to be sunk into the river bed to support the construction, over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the Towers and Walkways. This was then clad in Cornish granite and Portland stone, both to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the Bridge a more pleasing appearance.

when it was built, Tower Bridge was the largest and most sophisticated bascule bridge ever built (bascule comes from the French for see-saw). It was a hydraulically operated bridge, using steam to power the enormous pumping engines. the energy created was then stored in six massive accumulators so that, as soon as power was required to lift the Bridge, it was readily available. The accumulators fed the driving engines, which drove the bascules up and down. Despite the complexity of the system, the bascules only took about a minute to raise to their maximum 86 degrees.

today, the bascules are still operated by hydraulic power, but since 1976 they have been driven by oil and electricity rather than steam. The original pumping engines, accumulators and boilers are on show as part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, and you can also see the current machinery and control cabins when you come on a Behind the Scenes Tour. This tour must be pre booked.

Tower Bridge has a fascinating history, which is explored in full at the Exhibition.

In 1910 the high level walkways, which were designed so that the public could still cross the Bridge when it was raised, were closed down due to lack of use. Most people preferred to wait at the bottom and watch the bascules rise up. In 1912, during an emergency, Frank McClean had to fly betwen the bascules and the high level walkways in his Short biplane, to avoid an accident. In 1952 a London bus had to leap from one bascule to the other when the Bridge began to rise with the bus still on it.

1977 saw Tower Bridge painted red, white and blue to celebrate the Queens Silver Jubilee.

1982 saw Tower Bridge opened to the public for the first time since 1910, with a permanent exhibition inside.

In 1993 the Tower Bridge Experience opened to the public, this allowed visitors to go inside the bridge, walk the high level walkways and view the various exhibits. Entrance to the Experience is at the North Tower on the Tower of London side of the bridge. The walkways are 140 feet above the River Thames. Descending using the South Tower on the other side of the bridge the visitor can view the Victorian Engine Rooms.