Celebrating 125th anniversary
Tower Bridge was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by the Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) and 2019 marks its 125th anniversary.
In 2019, we invited the public inside to celebrate London’s best-loved landmark through a packed programme of talks, exhibitions and activities for visitors of all ages.
Making the Bridge Sing
'Making the Bridge Sing' was an exhibition at the Victorian Engine Rooms, centred around the commissioned film, ‘Time Bascule’. It was created by the internationally acclaimed artist, inventor and filmmaker Di Mainstone in celebration of the iconic Bridge’s 125th anniversary. Visitors were invited to discover the song at the heart of the Bridge and experience the hidden sounds of Tower Bridge.
Time Bascule
The film reimagines Tower Bridge as a giant musical instrument, drawing inspiration from one of the first women to work on the Bridge - Hannah Griggs, who cooked for the Bridge Master and his family between 1911-1915. Hannah plays the role of musical maestro to pluck the strings and ‘play’ the iconic London landmark.
Mixing the real with the imagined, the film explores Hannah’s life in the famous Towers via a specially composed musical narrative that weaves through one of many remarkable personal histories from 125 years of the Bridge. Focusing on her love of plants, the dreamlike work sees Hannah researching the connection between music and plant growth, working to develop larger and more ambitious tools to help her ‘play’ Tower Bridge like a giant musical instrument.
Artist Di Mainstone has invented a phantastical world, where Tower Bridge sings and nature takes over. She has created instruments to ‘play’ the bridge and recorded their magical sounds.
Watch the film
The final film was originally shown as part of a temporary exhibition inside Tower Bridge’s Engine Rooms, to mark the Bridge's 125th anniversary.
Did you know
A longer version of 'Time Bascule' won three awards at the LA IndieX Film Festival.
Who is Hannah Griggs?
Hannah Griggs was a cook at Tower Bridge in the 1910s, and she was also a keen gardener. She worked for Bridge Master Captain Richard Wakeham and his family in the residence, the red brick and stone building that still stands on the southern approach of the Bridge.
In the film, Di Mainstone imagines Hannah to be experimenting with music. She creates the sounds of the Bridge to help her plants grow. It seems to be working.
Today Hannah Griggs, along with other former workers, is commemorated with a plaque on the pavement of the Bridge.
Did you know
The idea of the film began when one of the Tower Bridge team overheard a conversation on the Bridge one day.
Susan Belcher was telling her friends the tale of her grandmother Hannah Griggs, and how she became the Cook-in-Service to the Bridge Master. Within days the Bridge’s Exhibition Manager was in touch and Susan shared Hannah Griggs’ story.
Artist Di Mainstone has previously developed instruments to create music from the Brooklyn Bridge, Clifton Suspension Bridge and most recently Sunderland’s new Northern Spire Bridge.
She is an award-winning WIRED innovation fellow who specialises in creating playable bridges and wearable sonic devices. The New York Times has featured her as one of their ‘new generation visionaries’ of the international digital art scene.
Tower Bridge: 125 Years of London’s Defining Landmark
Created by Guildhall School artists, 'Tower Bridge: 125 Years of London’s Defining Landmark' explored the story of the men and women who built, maintain and operate one of the world’s most iconic structures. Through cutting-edge projection and audio techniques, the installation explored the Bridge’s place in history and popular culture, from its mammoth 8-year construction project starting in 1886 right through to the unforgettable display of the Olympic rings and Paralympic agitos in 2012.
Human stories and iconic moments spanning three centuries - such as the employment of the Bridge’s first female worker in 1895 and the bus that famously jumped the bascules in 1952 - were brought to life through a stirring audio-visual narrative created especially for London’s greatest hidden space, Tower Bridge’s Bascule Chamber.
Tower Bridge: History • Engineering • Design
Explore the history of Tower Bridge through this highly illustrated and meticulously researched hardcover book. Containing insight on the River Thames before the Bridge's existence to the amazing engineering involved in its construction. Hear the stories of the people who maintained and shaped Tower Bridge into the iconic London landmark it is today. Rare archival images and new photography illustrate Tower Bridge in full glory.
Available to purchase from the Tower Bridge shop.
