Editing Tower Bridge (section)

=== Legislation ===
The [[act of Parliament]] authorising construction received royal assent on 14 August 1885 and is called the [[Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act 1885]] ([[48 & 49 Vict.]] c. cxcv).<ref name=":5" /> The act was specific about the design of what it (and contemporary media) named "The Tower Bridge", rather than just "Tower Bridge". Key stipulations were:

# The central opening span to be 200 feet clear width with a height of 135 feet above Trinity high water when open, and a height of 29 feet when closed.
# The size of the piers to be 185 feet long and 70 feet wide.
# The length of each of the two side spans to be 270 feet.
# During construction a clear waterway of 160 feet wide had to be maintained for river traffic.
# The design of the bridge should be made to accord with the architecture of the [[Tower of London]].<ref name=":5" />
# The bridge was to be completed within 4 years from the passing of the act.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=14 August 1885 |title=Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act, 1885 |journal=Acts of Parliament 48 & 49 Vict |via=Parliamentary Archives }}</ref>
# The bridge was to be opened at any time for the passage of any vessels, regardless of any delays to land traffic.

[[John Wolfe Barry|Barry]] later noted that "at one time it was intended that the new works should be made suitable for the mounting of guns and for military occupation." But that "The latter idea was afterwards to a great extent discarded."<ref name=":5" /> However, the act provided for "the senior officer commanding in the Tower [of London]...shall at all times have...the right to occupy the Tower Bridge."

The extent of the maritime trade conducted at this time between the site of Tower Bridge and London Bridge (a distance of approximately 0.5 miles) is demonstrated in Schedule B of the act which lists 11 active [[Dock|docks]], quays and [[Wharf|wharfs]] operating on the north side of the Thames, and 20 wharfs operating on the south side.

Two further acts of Parliament were required to extend the time allowed to complete the works. On 12 August 1889 the [[Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act 1889]] received royal assent to extend the time allowed for construction by a further four years to 1893 and make various adjustments to neighbouring streets that had proved necessary. The work was not yet complete after those four years, and on 29 June 1893 the [[Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Extension of Time Act 1893]] received royal assent extending the time by a further year.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act 1889 |date=12 August 1889 |publisher=UK Parliament |publication-date=12 August 1889 }}</ref>