Oozing history and mystery in equal measure, our capital city is filled to the brim with secrets, and bursting at the seams with tales to tell. And one of London’s lesser-known stories is actually hidden right in plain sight – perched on top of one of the most famous landmarks in the city.
Next time you’re strolling over Tower Bridge, if you look closely enough, you might just find a rather peculiar structure hidden amongst the ornate fixtures of the bridge. A structure that thousands of Londoners and tourists alike walk past every single day without so much as batting an eyelid. But here at Secret London, we’re eagle-eyed and ever-so inquisitive (AKA – nosey). So naturally, we had to find out more about it – and now we’re going to let you in on the secret, too.
If you walk from the north side of the bridge (the side nearest to the Tower of London), you’ll see a series of blue cast-iron lampposts. One of them, however, isn’t a lamppost at all. This particular pillar seems to be broken as it’s missing its light but it’s actually a rather cleverly-disguised chimney from days gone by.
When the crossing was completed in 1894, the bridge’s design included a guard room located just below it. The guards on duty relied on a coal fire to keep them warm during their shifts. And the chimney was built directly into the bridge’s balustrade and painted to perfectly match the neighbouring lampposts – serving as a very discreet vent for the smoke that would rise from the fire below.
Once the Clean Air Act of 1956 was introduced, the coal fire couldn’t be used, and so the vent no longer had a purpose to serve. But still to this day, the bright blue pillar remains in its original position, perched proudly along the pedestrian walkway on Tower Bridge. It stands inconspicuously among the other lampposts, and is largely ignored by the constant flow of cars and crowds that pass it by every single day. But now that you know it’s there, you won’t be able to miss it.
