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Jacob Abramow
Individual/Organization Report
Drawbridge
3rd Period, Year 3

The 19th century was a time of rapid innovation. The industrial revolution was in full
swing and led to many new inventions. While the drawbridge was not invented during the
industrial revolution, the need for them increased due to an increase in trade. More and more
boats had to get through rivers to deliver supplies. This would eventually cause traffic and delay
trade. Many drawbridges were build as a result of trade, however, one of the most significant is
the London Tower Bridge.
Once the decision to build a bridge was made in 1877, the Special Bridge and Subway
Committee was created. In order to create a design, they set up a competition where architects

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and civil engineers could submit their bridge design for consideration. In 7 years, Sir Horace
Jones submitted his design and was chosen as the design for the bridge.
Horace Jones was born on May, 20th 1819 in Bucklersbury, London. From the
beginning, he had an interest in architecture. His interest led to a 2 year trip (1841 - 1842) to
Italy and Greece to study architecture. He became an architect for the city of London one year
later. Later, he was elected to be the head architect for the City of London.
Throughout his career, he worked on buildings such as the Sovereign Assurance office
and the Marshall & Snelgroves premises. He became well recognized and respected. While he is
known for these accomplishments, his legacy lies in the London Tower Bridge, his most well
known structure. He developed the bridges design with his civil engineer, Sir John Wolfe Barry.
Sir John Wolfe Barry was the son of the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He attended
the Kings College in London, where he worked Sir John Hawkshaw to become a civil engineer.
Sir John Wolfe Barry worked on many projects including, the Cannon Street Railway Bridge, the
District Line of the London Underground, and assisted in the expansion of the Greenland Docks.
He, just like Horace Jones, became very well respected and was soon elected to become
president of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
The design was revolutionary. It was 800 feet long with two towers on either side. The
towers were 213 feet tall. The bridge was one of the first to have bascules. A bascule is the half
of the bridge that swings upwards to let a boat or ship pass through. The bascules were very
heavy, weighing more than 1000 tons. Each was counterbalanced. This allowed the bridge to be
raised for extended periods of time as well as increasing the life expectancy of the bridge. The
bridge also had suspension rods for reinforcements and walkways along the sides.

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Construction was held by five contractors and about 400 workers. To start, they lowered
heavy concrete foundation into the river. They then laid the steel foundation and rebar for the
towers. The bridges were coated in Cornish granite and other stone to not only reinforce the
tower, but improve its looks. Horace Jones died during the project, so a man named George D.
Stevenson. Stevenson was responsible for the gothic design of the bridge rather than Jones plain
brick design. The Tower Bridge now is iconic for its gothic architecture.
Together, these two civil engineers created the most humble of drawbridges, The Tower
Bridge. It is one of Londons famous landmarks and has withstood the tests of time. The design
itself was not only revolutionary, but completely solved the traffic issues on the London river.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge
http://www.thetowerbridge.info/sir-horace-jones
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wolfe_Barry