B/W print; Tower Bridge in the course of construction by London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, circa 1892
Main details
| Reference number | 1999/2404 |
|---|---|
| Description | Tower Bridge in the course of construction. There are boats in the foreground of the shot and the partially constructed bridge is in the background. |
| Photographer | |
| Dates | circa 1892 |
| Collection | |
| Object type |
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| Photograph number | Ukn |
| Topics | |
| Completeness | 60% |
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Physical description
Dimensions Attribute Value Descriptive size 6x8insItem content Attribute Value Annotation PROGRESS.
THE TOWER BRIDGE IN COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION, CIRCA 1890.
For several years, the work on the new bridge was a familiar site to passengers on London Bridge; but like everything else it had an ending. Observe on the left that the northern approach road has not yet been formed, and St Katherine's Docks warehouses adjoin the Tower. The approach road was formed partly on the glacis and the ditch of the Tower.
Photograph (supplied February, 1923) by London Stereoscopic Co.
THE TOWER BRIDGE.
ORIGIN. Although a project of latter-day consummation, the construction of a bridge across the Thames below London Bridge had long attracted the attention of engineers, and so far back as 1813 proposals of this nature had been put forward by Sir Samuel Brown and James Walker, FRS. Brown, a well-known engineer in his day, had made great improvements in chain cables, which permitted of the construction of suspension bridges on a much larger scale than formerly. It was he who, in 1825, built the Chain Pier at Brighton. The suggested bridge was to be a high-level suspension bridge, with three spans, each 600 feet in the clear, and the centre span 145 feet above high-water mark - 4 feet higher than the footbridges of the Tower Bridge. Nothing was done, however, but proposals for river crossings at the Tower, either above or below the river, continued to be made from time to time.
In 1843 a river crossing below London Bridge assumed practical form when Brunel's Thames Tunnel was opened, between Wapping and Rotherhithe. This is now a bit of London's "underground" in a dual sense, as it forms part of the East London Railway.
In 1871 the Tower Subway was constructed. This was a circular tube seven feet in diameter, intended for a rope-drawn car, but owing to accidents the chariot was superseded by Shanks' Pony. There was a halfpenny toll, and a million passengers are said to have crossed through the Subway yearly prior to the opening of the Tower Bridge.
In the 'Seventies and the 'Eighties public pressure was brought to bear on the Metropolitan Board of Works and the Corporation of London with respect to the provision of a bridge at the Tower. Various designs and suggestions were put forward, among them being a low-level bridge, with a dock in the middle; a movable or rolling bridge; a low-level bridge with a swing centre; and high-level bridges of various types. Subways also were suggested, and ferry boats. Eventually, the Corporation gave really serious attention to the matter, and in 1884 a deputation from the Bridge House Estates Committee visited Holland, Belgium, and Germany in order to inspect in those countries certain bridges with mechanical openings. The swing-bridge at Newcastle also came under notice. Subsequently designs were prepared by Horace Jones, the City architect, giving the general architectural elevations and plans of a swing bridge and a bascule bridge, respectively. The latter idea was favoured and the designs submitted to John Wolfe Barry with respect to the engineering practicability. Barry's report being highly favourable, the authority of Parliament for the construction of a bascule bridge was sought, and obtained through the Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act of 1885. Horace Jones and Barry were appointed to superintend the construction, the one as architect and surveyor, the other as engineer.
John Wolfe Barry was a son of Sir Charles Barry, the architect, and the achievement of father and son in having their memory perpetuated in their native city by two such remarkable works as the New Palace of Westminster and the Tower Bridge is, we think, unique in the annals of local biography in England.
(Contd forward).Design Attribute Value Shot Medium exterior -
People involved
Role Person(s) involved Photographer London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, circa 1892 -
Associated companies, people and places
Places Location Tower Bridge, Tower Hamlets and Southwark, E1 and SE1People Attribute Value People Charles White -