Even those who have never been to England will recognize Tower Bridge immediately. He is a kind of symbol of Britain. Every year, thousands of tourists take pictures near the bridge and watch ships sail under it. And at night, it attracts attention with hundreds of burning lights that are reflected in the water.
Where Tower Bridge is located
The country of this magnificent structure 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 over 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 visiting 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 banal. However, its majesty andthe severity of forms again and again stagger 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. Previously, until 1872, there was only one London Bridge in the city center, spanning the Thames. The authorities of London considered that it was clearly not enough for city needs. Therefore, in the said year, the parliament decided to build a new building. By the way, the commandant of the Tower was against the construction, but the parliament insisted on its own. It was decided that the architecture of the future bridge should effectively harmonize with the prison. That's where the austerity of Tower Bridge comes from.
He also got his name from the Tower of London. The northern 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 people to walk across this bridge were not London aristocrats at all, but prison inmates.
Bridge Maker
In the winter of 1876, the authorities of London announced a competition for the best design of a bridge 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 span bridges. But everyoneThe projects had two common drawbacks: at high tide, there was too little distance between the surface of the water and the bridge for ships to pass, and the ascent to it was too steep for the horses pulling the wagon. The architects proposed options with lifting hydraulic lifts for people and carts, with sliding decks and ring parts.
But the project of the chief architect of London, Sir Horace Jones, was recognized as the most realistic of the proposed options. He proposed a drawing of a drawbridge.
Unusual project
By the time Tower Bridge was built, drawbridges were no longer a miracle. They were widely used in St. Petersburg, the Netherlands and other countries. But the peculiarity of the Tower Bridge was its complex technical system. Nowhere else in the world has hydraulics been used on such a large scale. In St. Petersburg at that time, the labor of workers was used to draw the bridge, which was later replaced by the work of water turbines. At the request of the municipality, the bridge was designed in the Gothic style. Under it, even the largest sea vessels could easily pass.
A feature of the Tower Bridge was a counterweight, with which the structure was raised and moved apart. The construction of this structure was planned to combine masonry with steel structures.
However, despite the obvious merits of the idea, the authorities delayed the decision to approve it. Then Jones attracted the famous engineer John Wolfe Barry to the project, and together theyimproved. So, according to the new sketch, the Tower Bridge was supposed to have upper walkways. And the project was approved.
Start of construction and first changes
In order to make the project a reality, the government allocated a huge amount at that time - £585,000. Developers overnight turned into very rich people.
The construction started 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 severe blow to his engineer companion Barry, and construction was put on hold for a while.
Then, Barry nevertheless led the project and took the architect J. Stevenson as his assistant. The latter had a great passion for the Gothic art of the Victorian era, which was noticeably reflected in the project. Tower Bridge underwent a series of stylistic changes with Stevenson's arrival. The steel forms of the bridge were put on display as it was in the spirit of the times. Also, two famous towers appeared, connected by pedestrian crossings at a height of 42 meters above the river.
Opening the bridge and how it works
The Tower Bridge of London began to be built in 1886 and completed 8 years later. Its opening was a solemn event that took place in June 1894. The ceremony was attended by the Prince of Wales himself and his wife Alexandra.
The work of the bridge was completelyfocused on steam engines that turned huge pumps. These structures created high pressure in the hydraulic accumulator system. Which, in turn, fed the motors that rotated the crankshafts. The torque from the shafts was transmitted to the gears, which made the gear sectors move. And the sectors were responsible for the breeding of the wings of the bridge. The raised parts of the bridge were very massive, and it seemed that a huge load was on the gears. However, this is not so: heavy counterweights were attached to the wings of the bridge, which provided great assistance to the hydraulic motors.
It took a lot of energy to spread the wings. And then everything was provided. The construction mechanism included six huge accumulators, in which water was under strong pressure. She acted to the engines responsible for the operation of the draw parts of the bridge. Under the action of water, all kinds of mechanisms set in motion, and a huge axis with a diameter of half a meter began to rotate, lifting the canvases. The whole process of opening the bridge took only one minute!
Bridge today
Today Tower Bridge runs entirely on electricity. However, as before, when it starts to move, everyone around freezes and enthusiastically looks at the wings of the bridge rising into the air. Then the attention of others turns to the river. And whether it's a pleasure boat or a tug, everyone watches with interest as it passes under the bridge.
The most curious should go up to one of the towers, where the museum dedicated to the Tower Bridge is located. There you can learn a lot of interesting things about him.history, see photos of construction, layouts and plans. Well, then you can go up to the observation deck to see the extraordinary, breathtaking and stunning panorama of the city that opens from there.
So if you find yourself in London, be sure to visit Tower Bridge.
Interesting facts
Old London Bridge was purchased in 1968 by Robert McCulloch, a US businessman. The structure was dismantled and transported to the States. According to legend, the businessman thought that the old London Bridge is the Tower Bridge, a symbol of the mysterious foggy Albion. However, McCulloch himself publicly denies that this actually happened.
Tower Bridge is a real work of art, over which talented architects worked. It is also the greatest attraction not only in London, but in the whole of Great Britain as a whole.
