A prolific civil engineer and designer of bridges, docks and railways, his most famous project, designed in conjunction with City Architect Horace Jones, was Tower Bridge, built between 1886 and 1894. Its Gothic appearance disguises a contemporary steel and concrete structure.

Wolfe Barry also played a significant role in the development of standardisation, forming a committee from the Institutions of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineers, the Institution of Naval Architects and the Iron and Steel Institute, and founded what became the British Standards Institution.

He was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company, President of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, and Deputy Lieutenant for the County of London. His primary SDG contribution was to SDG9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure).