View From A Bridge
Denise Silvester-Carr plays tribute to Tower Bridge as it celebrates its 100th birthday.

What few people realise is that Tower Bridge is the unfulfilled brainchild of a little-known captain in the Royal Navy. Even as work began on Rennie's new London Bridge in March 1824, it was clear to the captain that a second bridge further down river would be needed if traffic congestion caused by the new docks in Wapping increased. The problem was that a bridge would prevent tall-masted ships entering and unloading in the Upper Pool by the Tower of London.