December 7, 1836 - Sir John Wolfe-Barry

The architect who made his name by building one of the London's most famous landmarks

Sir John Wolfe Barry

John Wolfe-Barry, the youngest son of architect Sir Charles Barry, added ‘Wolfe’ to his inherited name in 1898. He was educated at Glenalmond and King’s College London, and was a pupil of civil engineer Sir John Hawkshaw.

Horace Jones was appointed architect, and knighted, but died in 1886.

Wolfe-Barry was well-established with experience of building bridges across Thames, railways and docks. He then took control of Tower Bridge project and that’s what cemented Wolfe-Barry’s name in to history.

Tower Bridge, London

Construction was started in 1886 and it took 8 years to finish this bascule and suspension bridge. Five companies and 432 workers worked on it. It has 70,000 tons of concrete in foundations and some 10,000 tons of steel.

His other projects include: Cannon Street Railway Bridge (aka the Alexandra Bridge) (1866), Blackfriars Railway Bridge (aka St Paul’s Bridge), London (1886),
District Line of the London Underground (with Sir John Hawkshaw).