The Bascule Chambers

Tower Bridge's Bascule Chambers are one of London’s greatest hidden spaces. 

These cavernous brick-lined, subterranean spaces were built as an operational area to allow for the movement of the Bridge's huge counterweights used during Bridge Lifts. 

How large are the Bascule Chambers?

• The Bascule Chambers are like two enormous halls, 27 metres high, inside the piers. Their width x length x height measurements are: 21 x 59 x 27 metres.
• Each of our mighty bascules weight over 1,200 tons. A 400-ton counterweight help them to descend into the Bascules Chambers.
• The walls in the piers are a minimum of 304.8 cm (10 foot) thick made of Staffordshire Brindle and Gault bricks, faced with Granite

How were the Bascule Chambers built?

• The piers for the Bascule Chambers were built using 12 caissons, steel cages lowered into the Thames.
• A team of divers lead by a Quaker, Friend Samuel Penney, then worked inside the caissons excavating the foundations.
• The bascules were were built vertically to ensure river traffic could still pass. They were the final part of Tower Bridge’s construction.

In the past, Tower Bridge have worked closely with partners to create and host unique artistic events such as concerts and film screenings within the cathedral-like space of the Bascule Chambers. Each event has enthralled visitors and captured their imaginations.

For a taste of these previous events, watch a sample of a concert curated by composer Iain Chambers.