Even those who have never been to England will recognize the Tower Bridge immediately. He is a peculiar symbol of Britain. Every year, thousands of tourists are photographed next to the bridge and watch the ships sail under it. And at night it attracts the attention of hundreds of burning lights that are reflected in the water.
Where is the Tower Bridge
The country of this magnificent building is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It adorns the very capital of the kingdom - London. This drawbridge is located right in the city center above the River Thames.
In general, bridges are the sights of London: Tower Bridge, Waterloo, London, Millennium, Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Westminster (next to Big Ben). But still, the most important, which is a symbol of the city, is the Tower. He is the same calling card of London as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in New York. The image of this bridge is so closely connected with the capital of Britain that it even seems commonplace. Nevertheless, its majesty and austerity of forms again and again shock the imagination of tourists.
Where did this name come from
The history of Tower Bridge is closely intertwined with the Tower of London located next to it - a place where prisoners were kept. Earlier, until 1872, there was only one London bridge in the city center, which spread across the Thames. The authorities of London considered that it was clearly not enough for urban needs. Therefore, in the named year, the parliament decided to build a new structure. By the way, the commandant of the Tower was against the construction, but parliament insisted. It was decided that the future bridge in its architecture should effectively harmonize with the prison. That's where such a rigor of Tower Bridge comes from.
He also got his name from the Tower of London. The north end of the bridge was located just near the corner of the prison. And the road, which is a continuation of the bridge, runs parallel to the tower wall. So the first who walked across this bridge were not London aristocrats at all, but prison inmates.
Bridge creator
In the winter of 1876, London authorities announced a competition for the best bridge design for the city. The following requirements were set for the project:
- the bridge had to be high so that ships could pass under it;
- the structure had to be strong and wide to ensure the constant movement of carts and people.
Fifty interesting projects were proposed. Most of them offered high bridges with spans. But all projects had two common flaws: between the surface of the water and the bridge at high tide there was too little distance for ships to pass, and the rise on it was too steep for horses that pull the cart. Architects offered options with hydraulic lifting elevators for people and carts, with sliding decks and ring parts.
But the most realistic of the proposed options was recognized as the project of the main architect of London - Sir Horace Jones. He proposed a drawing of a drawbridge.
Unusual project
By the time the Tower Bridge was being built, drawbridges were no longer a miracle. They were widely used in St. Petersburg, in the Netherlands and other countries. But a feature of the Tower Bridge was its complex technical system. Nowhere in the world has hydraulics been used on such a large scale. In St. Petersburg at that time, the labor of workers, which was later replaced by the work of water turbines, was used to divorce the bridge. At the request of the municipality, the bridge was designed in the Gothic style. Even the largest sea vessels could easily pass under it.
A feature of the Tower Bridge was a counterweight, with the help of which the structure was raised and extended. In the construction of this structure, a combination of masonry with steel structures was planned.
However, despite the obvious merits of the idea, the authorities dragged on the decision to approve it. Then Jones brought in the project of the famous engineer John Wolf Barry, and together they improved it. So, according to a new sketch, the Tower Bridge was supposed to have upper footpaths. And the project was approved.
Start of construction and first changes
In order to translate the project into reality, the government allocated a huge amount at that time - £ 585,000. Developers overnight turned into very rich people.
The construction began in 1886. And at first everything went according to plan. But in the spring of 1887, even before they began to lay the foundation of the future bridge, the Head of the project, Jones, suddenly died. This was a strong blow for his companion engineer Barry, and the construction froze for a while.
Then Barry nevertheless led the project and took him as assistant architect J. Stevenson. The latter had a great passion for Victorian Gothic art , which significantly affected the project. With the advent of Stevenson, Tower Bridge underwent a number of stylistic changes. Steel forms of the bridge were on display, as it was in the spirit of the times. And also two famous towers appeared, connected by pedestrian crossings at a height of 42 meters above the river.
The opening of the bridge and the principle of its operation
The Tower of London Bridge began to be built in 1886 and completed 8 years later. Its opening was a solemn event, which took place in June 1894. The ceremony was attended by the Prince of Wales himself and his wife Alexander.
The work of the bridge was completely focused on steam engines that rotated the huge pumps. These structures created high pressure in the accumulator system. Which, in turn, fed motors rotating crankshafts. Torque from the shafts was transmitted to the gears, which forced the gear sectors to move. And the sectors were responsible for breeding the wings of the bridge. The raised parts of the bridge were very massive, and it seemed that there was a huge load on the gears. However, this is not so: heavy balances were attached to the wings of the bridge, which provided great assistance to hydraulic motors.
In order to spread wings, a large amount of energy was required. And then everything was provided. The construction mechanism included six huge batteries, in which water was under strong pressure. She entered the engines responsible for the work of the movable parts of the bridge. Under the influence of water, all kinds of mechanisms came into motion, and a huge axis with a diameter of half a meter began to rotate, lifting the canvas. The whole process of bridge construction took only one minute!
Bridge today
Today, Tower Bridge runs entirely on electricity. However, as before, when it comes into motion, everyone around us freezes and enthusiastically looks at the wings of the bridge soaring into the air. Then the attention of others is drawn to the river. And whether it's a pleasure boat or a tugboat, everyone is watching with interest how it passes under the bridge.
The most curious is to climb one of the towers, where the museum dedicated to the Tower Bridge is located. There you can learn a lot of interesting things about its history, see photos of construction, layouts and plans. Well, then you can climb to the observation deck to see the unusual, breathtaking and stunning panorama of the city that opens from there.
So if you find yourself in London, be sure to visit the Tower Bridge.
Interesting Facts
The Old London Bridge was acquired in 1968 by Robert McCullough - a businessman from the United States. The design was disassembled and transported to the States. According to legend, the businessman considered that the old London bridge is the Tower Bridge, a symbol of the mysterious foggy Albion. However, McCullough himself publicly denies that this really happened.
Tower Bridge is a real work of art, over which talented architects worked. And also this is the greatest attraction not only in London, but throughout the UK as a whole.