On many of our London walks you get a view of Tower Bridge. Sometimes we cross over it, other times we see it as we make our way over London Bridge.
It is of course an iconic London landmark and its history, as detailed on our various walks of London, is fascinating.
Tower Bridge is both a symbol and a sham. It was designed by the engineer John Wolfe-Barry and the architect Sir Horace Jones.
It was the first bridge to be built down river of London Bridge (for which is now often mistaken), and provided a much needed crossing point in the East of the City of London.
However, two important considerations had to be taken into account for its design.
Firstly, it was to stand alongside the medieval Tower of London and consequently it had to blend in with the style of that ancient fortress. Secondly, it must not obstruct shipping and so it was stipulated that its opening span must give a clear width of 200 feet and a headroom of 135 feet. To achieve this Jones designed a bascule bridge (bascule being French for see saw on which principle the bridge would operate).
The first stone was laid in 1886 by the then Prince of Wales on behalf of Queen Victoria and over the next eight years 432 workmen toiled to erect a structure that has since become one of London’s best known symbols. In the process ten of them lost their lives, a relatively low figure considering the engineering feat required, which included sinking two huge piers into the bed of the river.
The bridge opened to general praise in 1894 and in its first year its famous drawbridge was raised 6160 times. Today the bridge is raised around 900 times a year.
Over the years Tower Bridge has witnessed many events.
In August 1912 Sir Frank McClean flew up the Thames in a sea plane and managed to fly beneath the upper and lower parts of the bridge. This remarkable feat was captured by newspaper photographers and has subsequently passed into legend.
In 1968 Flt Lt. Alan Pollock decided to mark the RAF’s 50th anniversary by repeating the feat. Despite the skill displayed, and the fact he was suffering the early stages of pneumonia, his superiors promptly threw him out of the RAF and gave him no right to appeal.
Although Tower Bridge was not seriously damaged in the Second World War, it was reputedly used as a navigation aid by German bombers who could use its distinctive shape to help get a fix on any part of London.
Later in the war the bridge became a “Bulls eye” aiming target for the German flying bombs. Tragedy struck when a V1 flying bomb flew between the two towers and killed the crew of the lift attendant’s tug which was moored alongside the bridge.
At 9.35pm on 30th December 1952 a crowded number 78 double decker bus bound for Dulwich was nearly half way across Tower Bridge when the bridge began to rise.
Albert Gunter, the 46-year old driver, said at the time, “I just couldn’t believe it. I was driving over the bridge when suddenly it seemed as if the road ahead was starting to sink. Then I realised that the part I was on was rising – and I had only a split second to make up my mind what I was going to do.”
Albert slammed his foot on the accelerator and the bus leapt across the widening gap and smashed on its chassis as it landed on the other side. Several passengers were injured, but they all survived and Albert was hailed as a hero.
Albert’s bravery was acknowledged with a £10 reward from the police and an invitation from one of the injured passengers, May Walshaw, to be best man at her wedding shortly afterwards.
Albert dismissed suggestions of bravery, observing modestly “it might have been any of the drivers on the route. I just happened to be there.”
The walkways that cross between the two towers of the bridge were intended to enable pedestrians to cross the bridge whenever the centre span was raised. However they were closed in 1910 due to, -depending on which account you read and choose to believe - them becoming a popular haunt of pickpockets; a regular place of assignation for ladies of the night, a favourite place for suicides to launch themselves into eternity from, or most probably, because so few people used them it simply wasn’t worth the cost and effort of keeping them open.
So next time you look at Tower Bridge, either in a photograph, or on one of our many London walks that incorporate it, spare a though for all the history that it has witnessed and remember that, no matter how well known a London landmark is, there is an awful of gripping history that simply doesn’t find its way into the regular guide books on London.
Tags: My walks of London, Sightseeing Tours in London., Tower Bridge London
