Tower Bridge is undoubtedly one of the most widely recognisable symbols of London. I recently went inside Tower Bridge, a fascinating experience; seeing a London icon from another angle.
Here are 12 of the best surprising facts about the bridge and what to spot if you visit!
1. 50 Different Designs Were Initially Submitted
The bridge is so iconic today it is hard to picture it looking any different. Due to the East End developing rapidly in the late Victorian period, a new bridge was needed over the river. The fact that ships needed to be able to pass through it into the Pool of London, presented a bit of design challenge.
Over 50 designs were submitted in an open competition, you can see a couple of examples below.
The neo-Gothic design of Horace Jones partnered with civil engineer John Wolfe Barry was eventually selected. They designed a ‘bascule’ bridge (more on that later) and proposed the neo-gothic medieval look we have today to complement the Tower of London.
2. 10 people died in the construction Of The Bridge
Up to 848 people were employed at any one time when building the bridge from 1886-1894.
Sadly 10 people are known to have died, for example 20 year old Richard Bacon fell to his death on the 25th April 1888.
The structure itself is an 11,000 ton steel frame fronted with concrete, granite, portland stone and 31 million bricks. You get a great sense of the steel structure and all the nuts and bolts if you visit inside.
3. It Used To Be Brown!
Tower Bridge has not always been the patriotic red, white and blue colour scheme we have today. It was painted like this in 1977 for the Queen’s Silver jubilee. Previously, it had been a sort of chocolate brown colour. Lots of this colour can be seen inside the towers, see the photo above.
During the Second World War it was painted grey to camouflage it from enemy bombers and thankfully it was never hit by a bomb.
4. There are huge chambers below the bridge
The opening of the two halves of the bridge used to be operated by hydraulics, powered by steam. If you visit the bridge today you can see the old machinery and boilers used for this process. 3000 kilos of coal were used every day to power the bridge.
The power generated by the steam would turn cogs attached to the back of the ‘bascules’ (French for see-saw). The 1200 ton weights on the bascules would be raised and lowered in huge chambers under the towers to operate the arms, allowing it to open and close. When Tower Bridge first opened it would be raised 20-30 times a day, today it averages 2 or 3. You can can see when bridge lifts will happen here.
It is still operated by hydraulics today but powered instead by electricity.
When not in use to operate the bridge, special tours are run to go inside the bascule chambers and occasionally concerts and film screenings are held in them. Find out more here.
5. Look Out For This Symbol
As you walk over the bridge look out for this symbol…
It is known as the Bridge Mark, the symbol of the Bridge House Estates.
Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust, was set up in 1282 to maintain London Bridge- the only crossing over the river in central London until 1750. Through tolls and rents, Bridge House Estates made a lot of money over the centuries and used these funds to build more bridges: Tower Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge and also acquiring Southwark Bridge.
The Bridge Mark has been in use since the 17th century and can be seen adorning the bridges they maintain.
6. People used to live in the bridge
Up until the early 1900s, the ‘Bridge Master’ used to live in the South abutment and his deputy in the North abutment.
A house was eventually built in the early 1910s on Tower Bridge road for the Bridge Master and lots of the key bridge workers were housed nearby, for example the Superintendent of Machinery lived at 10 Horsleydown Lane.
7. It Used To Have Its Own Mortuary
Under the North abutment of the bridge there is a white tiled alcove known as ‘Dead Man’s Hole’.
In the Victorian period, bodies used to regularly wash up here. A mortuary was therefore built here to lay out the bodies, ready to be claimed. It is located behind a wooden door to the right.
You can see photos inside the mortuary here!
8. It is the birthplace of the royal parachute regiment
In 1917, a stunt was performed by an eccentric member of the Royal Flying Corps: Thomas Hans Orde-Lees. He jumped from the bridge with what was essentially a homemade parachute and landed safely in the Thames.
His aim of demonstrating the effectiveness of parachutes was a success and he was put in charge of a newly formed parachute company.
9. London’s Highest Red-Light District?
When the bridge first opened, it was thought that people wishing to cross by foot would not want to wait for the bridge to open. The towers and walkways above the road were therefore open to foot traffic. However, due to the speed of the bridge (60 seconds to fully open), the walkways were rarely used.
The walkways were closed in 1910 right up until 1984, with some saying that this is due to them getting a reputation for prostitution and pickpocketing, although there’s no real evidence of this.
You can now walk across the Western walkway as part of the Inside Tower Bridge experience. It has a glass floor, that looks right down to the road.
10. There is a reason this lamppost has no lamp
As you walk towards Tower Bridge from the Northern approach, you will notice something a bit strange…. one of the lampposts is missing a lamp. That is because it is not actually a lamppost! It is a chimney. It used to link to a coal fire in a guards room underneath.
Since the 1956 Clean Air Act however, it has gone unused.
11. A bus once tried to jump the gap
On the 30th December 1952 a watchman forgot to stop traffic as the bridge opened.
Albert Gunter, the driver of the 78 bus, was on the South side as the bridge started to open. He decided to accelerate. It was a 6ft drop onto the North section of the bridge but he cleared it and landed relatively safely.
The driver broke his leg and 12 passengers sustained minor injuries. Albert was given a day off and a £10 bonus for his bravery.
12. Tower bridge Was An Anti Aircraft Station In WW1
The height of the two towers on the bridge were utilised for defence in both World Wars.
In World War One, a 3 inch gun was mounted on a platform above the roof of the easterly footbridge between the towers. During the biggest air raid of WW1 on the 19th May 1918 it shot down a German Gotha fighter. This was the only German machine shot down in London during WW1.
It was manned by men who had all fought on the Western Front- see a photo of the crew below.
In the Second World War it was also used, this time as an observation post.
I also have a blog post on how the public nearly lost the best view of it! Click below to read.
Thank you for reading. If you would like to book a ticket to visit inside Tower Bridge- you can see their website here.
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Very interesting, as always but the Gotha aircraft were bombers, not fighters. I regret not being able to participate in your tours due to distance (I live in Kidderminster) and arthritis but look forward to reading your weekly blogs (is that the right word?).
Best wishes,
Bill Armstrong
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