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Previously unseen photos of Tower Bridge from its opening week in 1894 will go on show this summer.
The new open-air exhibition — marking the landmark's 130th birthday — features photos kept by one of its original engineers, Edward Cruttell. They were discovered recently by Cruttell's descendants, and show the final few weeks of the bridge's construction, including the workers responsible for building it — as well as the first week the bridge opened to the public, when everyday Londoners came to see it.
Patrick Molineux, Cruttwell's great grandson who found the photographs, said:
My mother had stored the photos for decades in an archive box, and we were pleasantly shocked to discover that they’d never been seen publicly. It's always been a source of pride for our family to have such a connection to an icon like Tower Bridge so we couldn't quite believe that we'd discovered such a piece of history. We can’t wait to see them on display and to bring the rich history to life with the exhibition.
The exhibition, which opens on the pavements of Tower Bridge, will be free and open to everyone. There will also be an augmented reality experience, bringing the images to life.
Launching A Landmark: The Unseen Opening Weeks is on the pavements of Tower Bridge, 22 June-September 2024, and is free to visit.
