View From A Bridge

Tower Bridge is 100 years-old in June. The most impressive of all bridges across the Thames, its neo-Gothic appearance has come to symbolise London all over the world. Had various alternative suggestions for the bridge succeeded, the distinctive outline could easily have been a floating roadway suspended on chains or a bridge resplendent with a paddle wheel.

What few people realise is that Tower Bridge is the unfulfilled brainchild of a little-known captain in the Royal Navy. Even as work began on Rennie's new London Bridge in March 1824, it was clear to the captain that a second bridge further down river would be needed if traffic congestion caused by the new docks in Wapping increased. The problem was that a bridge would prevent tall-masted ships entering and unloading in the Upper Pool by the Tower of London.