In October 2020, we invited you to share your fondest memories and images of Tower Bridge with us using #MyTowerBridge. We received hundreds of amazing responses, with many selected to appear alongside our exhibition, Lives of a Landmark. Below you can find some of our favourites.
"In the summer of 1991 I worked as secretary to Col Stevens, who was the Bridge Master at Tower Bridge. Here are some photos I took of me opening the Bridge..."
📸: @JackieM86828628
"The view from the East Walkway is fantastic! B. spent ages on the Glass Floor watching the cars, buses and boats underneath us. It’s a breathtaking 42m above the River Thames and 33.5m above the road!
Then we headed to the Engine Rooms. B. really enjoyed the original steam engines and coal burners. Tower Bridge is a great place to visit."
"This is my grandfather, Edward Podd, who was a Charge-Hand on Tower Bridge. He used to walk/crawl across the very top to look out for enemy planes during the war.
I also heard that he was not working the day a London double-decker bus got stuck on the Bridge [30 December 1952]. He had an appointment to go, but then felt guilty as [the incident] wouldn’t have happened on ‘his watch'."
📸: @anita_e18
"Possibly one of the memorable days out there on a heavy downpour, I was trying to get a few shots with my camera completely exposed to rain.
Minutes before the shot, it was all just a drizzle with people having a good Saturday morning and, in seconds, the clouds broke out leaving everyone to run towards a shade".
📸: @clickophil_studios
"Two images 30 years apart. My wife and I got married at Tower Bridge in 2018, and my late mother and I on Tower Bridge as a baby.
Our family lived in Shadwell for years and Tower Bridge was a local fascination for me, a magical landmark!
Lovely to be able to revisit years later to get married there, knowing how many memories it gave me of my mum and our family in East London. ♥"
📸: @0wley
"This vista of Tower Bridge is one of my favourite views in London, especially at this time of day. I love the way the setting sun lights up the Towers with a vibrant orange glow.
I visited on one of the last warm days of early autumn and just as I took the photograph a stranger walked across me and posed in the fountains. He thought he was just photobombing me but, in fact, he perfectly mimicked the strong shape of the Bridge and added an extra element to the shot. Best photobomb ever!"
📸: @waynespicerlondon
"This photograph is of Phoebe and Calum, with their grandpa in the background, during autumn half-term in 1999.
It is a favourite because they were all watching something happening on the river and didn’t know the picture was being taken. Phoebe is now a doctor, Calum is a footballer and grandpa is happily retired".
📸: @BonesNorah
"Since I moved to London from Italy, Tower Bridge has been my favourite place to visit. I love spending my free time walking around it, soaking up all the beauty that surrounds me.
At Tower Bridge I have seen the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises and those are moments that I will cherish forever".
📸: @alice.sampo
"Few cities have the history of London. Even fewer locations give a sense of that history. Tower Bridge is one of those locations!
The Bridge itself clearly does this well (hence why it’s used as a centrepiece for so many films), but it can also distract from some of the smaller intricacies you can take for granted, such as the various sets of steps - especially at night - that really give a feeling of that history.
The above scene would be equally at home in a modern episode of ‘Spooks’ or as a period Jack the Ripper film."
📸: @narratives.in.pixels
"I've felt like a right tourist this week, seeing the iconic Tower Bridge after so long. It’s a feeling I've missed a lot over the past year, and I can't tell you how NORMAL it's made me feel."
📸: @imbeingerica
"Eight years ago, whilst on a trip to England from Australia, I decided that I was going to call London home. At that moment, I happened to be standing and gazing at Tower Bridge.
Five years after that, I made London my home."
📸: @girlwiththeredbob
We'd love to hear from you about your Tower Bridge connection.
Please share your stories and images with us on Instagram or Twitter using #MyTowerBridge and tag @TowerBridge.
