Tower Bridge

The History and Legacy of London's Most Iconic Bridge

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Tower Bridge

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Jim D Johnston

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About this listen

"London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady."

For most people, this playful child's rhyme conjures up visions of the tall, majestic, two-towered bridge spanning the River Thames near the Tower of London, with its high footpath providing one of the best views available of the city. The only problem is, this vision is wrong, for the London Bridge of modern times is neither tall nor majestic. Indeed, it is not at all memorable for any reason except for its ability to get the city's commuters back and forth to work each day.

In fact, the tall bridge that symbolizes not just the city but the nation is Tower Bridge, and while it is among the oldest major bridges in London, it is hardly the first to have been built on the Thames, or even on that spot. In actuality, the first men to build a bridge on that spot probably spoke Latin as their first language.

As time passed, technology changed, and with it, the nature of bridge building. Wood gave way to stone, which in turn gave way to iron and steel. At the same, London grew on both land and water, with more people living in and near the city, and more people plying the river in bigger and bigger ships. The people on land needed to get across the river, and the people on the river needed to be able to move along without too much interference. It was obvious that the city needed a new bridge, but years passed before the right design for one came along.

19th Century

Great Britain

England

City