Tower Bridge is the Society' s symbol of the river gateway to the East of London Area. The bridge is so named because of its proximity to the Tower of London. It took 8 years to build and was completed in 1894.
London Bridge was for many centuries the only London crossing for the Thames. As the city grew more bridges were built upstream but the area east of London Bridge had also become a busy port as the dock area expanded.
By the mid 19th century the East End of London was so densely populated that a bridge to the east of London Bridge became urgent as traffic across the river was being delayed by hours.
A 'Special Bridge or Subway Committee' was formed in 1876 and a public competition was launched for the design of new crossing. The City Architect Horace Jones designed the solution that was finally chosen from over 50 submissions.
Tower Bridge was the largest bascule bridge ever built. 'Bascule' comes from the French for 'see-saw'. The bascules, which raise the roadway like a drawbridge to allow ships to pass upstream, are operated by hydraulic power. The power for the hydraulic energy storage was originally provided by steam.
Since 1976 the power has been supplied by oil and electricity.