Timeline: The construction of Tower Bridge

10 February 1876

Many petitions were calling for a new crossing point east of the Tower of London to ease congestion and traffic. On 10 February 1876, the Corporation of London asked City Bridge Foundation (historically known as Bridge Houses Estates) to establish the Special Bridge or Subway Committee to explore this possibility.

November 1884

Three options for the design of Tower Bridge were unveiled by Sir Horace Jones, architect surveyor to the City of London. This one pictured shows an arched span between Gothic towers. In collaboration with civil engineer Sir John Wolfe Barry, a new design was proposed, recommending a bascule bridge with a central opening span. They were successful and their design was accepted by Parliament and Bridge House Estates, who would fund and manage the Bridge.

14 August 1885

The Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act 1885 received Royal Assent. A bill to allow the Bridge’s construction was presented to Parliament and passed in 1885. This bill, the Tower Bridge Act also regulated it’s use, as it still does today.

22 April 1886

The day workers broke ground and the construction of Tower Bridge began. Sir John Wolfe Barry was appointed Chief Engineer on the project, with Henry Marc Brunel (second son of the great civil engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel) as his Assistant Engineer and Edward Cruttwell as Resident Engineer. Horace Jones passed away just one year into construction, leaving Barry to complete the project over the next eight years.

September 1886

The first caisson, a deep well-like structure of iron, was sunk to a depth of almost 8m under the riverbed, creating a barrier between the river and the worksite.

 31 January 1894

The last granite stone on the Bridge was set in the turret of the South Tower, bringing the work on the external masonry to an end.

April 1894

Sir William Armstrong’s engineers lowered and raised the bascules for the first time, testing the hydraulics.

The internal stairs in the Towers are completed. You can still see the original 'bright chocolate' brown colour, rumoured to be Queen Victoria's favourite colour when visiting Tower Bridge today.

14 May 1894

Lieutenant Angelo ‘Bertie’ Cator RN is appointed as the first Bridge Master with an Annual Salary of £200.

June 1894

The wooden flooring, paving and painting of the Bridge is completed.

On 21 June 1894 the bascules were weight tested with steam rollers, traction engines and loaded trollies exerting a pressure of 100 CWT (hundredweight) per square foot (54.68 tonnes per square metre).

Work is finished on the High-Level Walkways. The two Walkways stand 42m above the River Thames and stretch 61m between the two Towers of the Bridge.

The Bridge House Estates committee recorded that the Bridge cost £1,184,000, however, with the additional costs of repairs to wharves, compensation and completion of contractor contracts, the true cost of the Bridge was probably closer to £1.6 million.

A Royal opening

The Prince of Wales opens Tower Bridge at 12pm, 30 June 1894. He was accompanied by his wife, Princess Alexandra, and his son, the Duke of York (the future King George V). The first vessel through was the Harbour Master’s cutter, ‘Daisy’.

9 July 1894

Tower Bridge opens for pedestrian traffic only from 5am, remaining open until 9pm. Around 141,760 Pedestrians crossed Tower Bridge on this day. The Bridge was lifted 13 times for 15 ships.

Artist William Lionel Wyllie was commissioned to paint a picture of the opening of Tower Bridge, which now hangs in Guildhall Art Gallery.

29 July 1894

The Bridge is open both day and night to the public. From July, an estimated 8,000 horse-drawn vehicles and 60,000 pedestrians are crossing the Bridge daily.