Jun 26, 2026 · 30 min · 12 segments
How Tower Bridge Was Built: The Untold Story of London's Most Famous Bridge Discover the remarkable history behind Tower Bridge, one of London's most iconic landmarks. Learn how political battles…
Hazel BakerHost
The stuff that doesn't make it into the guidebooks, the stories hidden in plain sight.
It's on every tourist's photograph, every postcard, every tea towel in every gift shop from Baddington to Pettigoat Lane.
But I promise you, the real story of how Tower Bridge came to exist is far messier, far more political and far more human than that.
We're going to hear about the politicians who blocked it, the engineers who argued over it, the workers who died building it, and the critics who absolutely hated it.
We'll be drawing on primary source newspaper reports from 1890, real Victorian voices, so strap in.
Read the full transcript.
Create an account to read the whole episode, search across every transcript, and follow the shows you care about.
The stuff that doesn't make it into the guidebooks, the stories hidden in plain sight.
It's on every tourist's photograph, every postcard, every tea towel in every gift shop from Baddington to Pettigoat Lane.
But I promise you, the real story of how Tower Bridge came to exist is far messier, far more political and far more human than that.
We're going to hear about the politicians who blocked it, the engineers who argued over it, the workers who died building it, and the critics who absolutely hated it.
We'll be drawing on primary source newspaper reports from 1890, real Victorian voices, so strap in.