The opening ceremony of the Tower Bridge, 1894-5 by William Lionel Wyllie [Guildhall Gallery © City of London Corporation]

FOR 130 years a world famous and uplifting bridge has straddled the Thames, yet very few have any idea who actually designed it.

Until now. Kentish Town author David Lascelles’s definitive new book, Horace Jones: Architect of Tower Bridge, has for the first time shone a light on the much-overlooked and forgotten Victorian who was responsible for the bridge and many other important London buildings.

Lascelles, a former Financial Times journalist who lives near Dartmouth Park, has not stopped there. His investigation has inspired him to apply to English Heritage for a blue plaque for Horace to be placed at the home where he died in 1887, at the age of 68, in Devonshire Place, Marylebone. What’s more, English Heritage have informally “accepted the proposal” and will make a final decision later this year.

“I’m delighted they will consider a blue plaque for Horace, of course,” Lascelles told Review. “English Heritage asked for details of the proposal and I sent them a copy of my book.”

Lascelles discovered that apart from some scanty archives at the Guildhall and the Royal Institute of Architects (RIBA) there was virtually nothing in the way of biography of the man who designed the most visited bridge in the capital, no critique of his work, or plaques. The only public place that bears Horace’s name is Horace Jones House, a small block of council flats built in 2015 in Southwark.

Surprisingly, none of the brass plaques along the road commemorating construction of the bridge contain his name. However, he gets a mention on a foundation stone at river level.

So, what did the Victorians have against Horace, who was based at Furnival’s Inn, Holborn?

“I have my theories,” said Lascelles. “He was a difficult man, unpopular among his colleagues. He was even viewed by some as a local authority ‘engineer’ rather than an architect.”

Horace Jones by Walter William Ouless

For Lascelles, his book has become a labour of love. Horace designed not only many local housing schemes in Camden and the West End but also Lascelles’ own home in Kentish Town and his office where he writes in Leadenhall Market in the City.

The author did discover that the late Sir John Betjeman, the poet laureate who was a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, supported Horace. In the 1970s Betjeman teamed up with the Victorian Society to save Horace’s work, notably Smithfield and Billingsgate markets.

Tower Bridge, which complements the nearby Tower of London, was completed in June 1866 with the help of engineer Sir John Wolfe Barry. Incidentally, Barry did get a blue plaque on his house on the Chelsea Embankment.

When opened, Tower Bridge was regarded as the most sophisticated span in the world. It included “bascules”, (devices operating like a balance or “see-saw”) which allowed it to be raised and lowered, and was operated by hydraulics, using steam to power the enormous pumping engines. Today, the bascules are still operated by hydraulic power, but are driven by oil and electricity rather than steam.

Horace Jones was responsible for some of London’s most recognisable buildings. “Yet,” said Lascelles, “most people I spoke to had never even heard of him.”

Horace towered over his profession, earning a knighthood and becoming president of RIBA following in the footsteps of Sir Charles Barry, designer of the Houses of Parliament.

He was born near Cheapside in the heart of the City in 1819. But where Christopher Wren (1692-1723) became the capital’s most famous architect, Horace disappeared into oblivion despite the fact that millions admired his work.

In 1833, he was behind the redevelopment of Rosslyn Park, one of the last great mansions in Hampstead whose grounds were turned into housing.

He also designed a new wing for the Royal Free Hospital in 1856, which at the time was based in Gray’s Inn Road. The hospital was founded to care for the poor and sick and moved up to Hampstead in the 1970s.

Horace also wanted to protect London’s green spaces. In 1886, he designed an ornate keepers’ lodge in Highgate Woods on behalf of the City Corporation.

Lascelles said: “At RIBA, the directory of architects devotes barely one column to him. Indeed, the presidential portrait of Horace is no longer on display.”

Horace died less than a year after the foundation was laid for Tower Bridge. Lascelles writes: “Horace’s visual impact on the City of London is arguably second only to Wren’s, maybe even greater than Wren’s because St Paul’s is easily confused with similar domed cathedrals, while Tower Bridge attracts that special word ‘iconic.’”

• Horace Jones, Architect of Tower Bridge. By David Lascelles, Profile, £19.99