Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognizable bridges in the World. It is the London bridge you tend to see in movies and on advertising literature for London. Tower Bridge is the only Thames bridge which can be raised.

Tower Bridge (headroom 28’2") is by contrast only just over 100 years old – and yet it is probably London’s most famous landmark. It was built in 1886 to the designs of Sir Horace Jones and John Wolfe-Barry. They tried to create a structure that was in architectural harmony with the nearby Tower of London. It has a unique stone clad steel frame, which supports the bascules – the lifting arms of the roadway which it carries across the Thames. Bascule is the French word for see-saw. The bascules are regularly opened to allow the passage of tall ships upriver to the Pool of London.

Again, it is one of the most photographed tourist sights in London - an iconic image known all over the World. Tower Bridge is 60 meters long with towers that rise to a height of 43 meters. Its middle section can be raised to permit large vessels to pass the Tower Bridge. Massive engines raise the bridge sections, which weigh about 1000 lbs each, in just over a minute. It used to be raised about 50 times a day, but nowadays it is only raised 4 to 5 times a week

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