Listed Building Description
Text courtesy of Historic England. © Crown Copyright, reprinted under the Open Government License.
SOUTHWARK
TQ3380 TOWER BRIDGE ROAD 636-1/2/793 Tower Bridge (that part that lies 06/12/49 within the Borough of Southwark)
I
Bridge. 1886-94. By Sir John Wolfe Barry, engineer and Sir Horace Jones, architect. For the City Corporation. Low level bascule bridge with wider side spans hung from curved lattice girders; central narrower opening section. Steel structure with twin Gothic towers rising from 21.3m (70ft) broad piers which support the bascules and house their counter balances. Towers clad in rock-faced stone with ashlar dressings; high pitched slate roofs behind stone battlemented parapet. High level footbridges between the towers, incorporating ties between the 2 suspended spans and linking whole bridge together as continuous structure. Tower of 4 stages with corner turrets surmounted by pinnacles. Some architectural detailing added after Jones's death. Above archway, elaborate Gothic-style windows on each level surmounted by dormer feature in roof; moulded string courses between floors... read more