Tower Bridge stands as one of the most famous landmarks in the world, yet people frequently confuse it with its neighbor, London Bridge. While it looks like a medieval castle, it is actually a high-tech Victorian masterpiece of engineering. For instance, the bridge originally operated on steam power to lift its massive basalt walkways. Furthermore, it hides a secret network of underground chambers that once stored the coal needed to keep the engines running. Prepare to cross the most famous bascule bridge in history.
Tower Bridge
A double-decker bus once jumped the gap. In 1952, the watchman failed to ring the warning bell before opening the bridge. Albert Gunter, the driver of the number 78 bus, realized the road was dropping away and decided to accelerate. He successfully cleared the three-foot gap and landed safely on the other side.
The bridge was originally chocolate brown. Although we recognize the iconic blue and white paint today, the bridge wore a dark brown color when it opened in 1894. The city repainted it in red, white, and blue in 1977 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
It is a “bascule” bridge, not a drawbridge. The term comes from the French word for “see-saw.” Massive counterweights hidden inside the piers allow the heavy road sections to swing upward with very little effort. Each leaf weighs over one thousand tons but can rise in just sixty seconds.
Ships always have the right of way. According to ancient law, the bridge must open for any vessel taller than thirty feet, regardless of how much traffic is on the road. Even the US President Bill Clinton once had to wait in his motorcade because the bridge opened for a small wooden barge.
The walkways were once a haven for criminals. Architects originally designed the high-level walkways so pedestrians could cross while the bridge was open. However, few people wanted to climb the stairs, so the area became a haunt for pickpockets and sex girls until the city closed them in 1910.
It hides a massive brick “bascule chamber” underwater. Beneath the south pier lies a cavernous space that houses the counterweights as they swing down. Today, this hidden hall sometimes hosts classical music concerts because it possesses incredible acoustics.
A pilot once flew a plane through the bridge. In 1912, Frank McClean found himself in a tight spot and decided to fly his biplane between the walkways and the road. Later, in 1968, a frustrated RAF pilot flew a Hawker Hunter jet through the gap to protest government cuts.
Steam engines powered the bridge for eighty years. Huge coal-fired boilers created high-pressure water to drive the hydraulic machinery. You can still visit the original Victorian engine rooms today to see the polished brass and massive pistons that kept London moving.
It is not actually made of stone. While it looks like solid masonry, the towers are actually steel skeletons. The architects covered the metal with Cornish granite and Portland stone to make the bridge match the nearby Tower of London and satisfy the city’s aesthetic demands.
The bridge opens around 800 times a year. While it opened up to fifty times a day in the late 1800s, it now opens significantly less often. You can check the bridge lifting schedule online to see exactly when the road will rise for passing yachts and cruise ships.
A worker once got stuck in the mechanism. During the Victorian era, a laborer accidentally got caught in the giant gears. Legend says his ghost still haunts the engine rooms, and staff sometimes report hearing strange metallic clanking when the engines are silent.
It was once part of a “Dead Man’s Hole.” Under the north side of the bridge, there is a small alcove where the tide naturally washed up bodies from the Thames. Morticians used this space to collect the deceased before the city built a proper morgue nearby.
The glass floor can hold the weight of two elephants. In 2014, the bridge installed glass panels in the high-level walkways. These allow tourists to look straight down at the red buses and the river from 42 meters up. The glass is 53 millimeters thick and incredibly strong.
It survived the Blitz with remarkably little damage. Despite the German air force dropping thousands of bombs on London’s docks, Tower Bridge remained largely intact. One bomb hit the road in 1940, but engineers repaired the damage quickly to keep the supply lines open.
Finally, the Tower Bridge is often the victim of “identity theft.” Countless tourists and even some news agencies mistakenly call it London Bridge. Ironically, the real London Bridge is a much simpler concrete structure located just a short walk up the river.
