TUNNELS

 

See Also: BRIDGES; HORSES Tunnels; ROBBERY Tunnellers, Baker Street Lloyds; SEWAGE; SUBTERRANEAN; SUBTERRANEAN RIVERS; THE THAMES; UNDERGROUND LINES; THE UNRESURRECTED MOLE

Tunnels are a feature of the Thames to the east of Tower Bridge. In the mid and late 19thC it was necessary not to block off maritime access to the Pool of London and the upriver docks such as St Katharine's.

 

The Blackwall Tunnel

Blackwall Tunnel (1897) was built by Alexander Binnie.

The original Blackwall took two-way traffic. The second tunnel enabled traffic to be one-way in each tunnel.

See Also: HORSES Tunnels

Website: www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp640-645

 

Foot Tunnels

Greenwich Foot Tunnel

Greenwich Foot Tunnel connects Greenwich to the southern end of the Isle of Dogs.

Location: King William Walk, Greenwich, SE10 9HT

Saunders Nest, Isle of Dogs, E14 3DW

Website: www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200259/transport_and_travel/693/foot_tunnels

The Tower Subway

The Tower Subway (1869) was constructed by Peter Barlow, who used the new Greathead shield tunnelling techniques. The 1350ft.-long excavation ran under the Thames from a point just to the west of the Tower of London to Vine Lane on the southern side of the river. It was intended that a cable railway should operate along its length. The tunnel was closed in 1896.

Location: Tower Place West, EC3R 5BT (orange, brown)

Woolwich Foot Tunnel

Woolwich Foot Tunnel is just downriver from Woolwich Ferry.

Location: Woolwich High Street, SE18 6DL

Website: www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200259/transport_and_travel/693/foot_tunnels

 

Strand Underpass

Strand Underpass the last public portion of the tunnel that ran from the top of Kingsway to underneath the north end of Waterloo Bridge, where it fed traffic out onto the Embankment. The north portion has had a variety of uses including being a tram depot and the headquarters for London's flood defences.

Location: Kingsway, WC2B 6UJ

Website: www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php/Strand_Underpass

 

The Thames Tunnel

The Thames Tunnel was the world's first underwater tunnel. It extends from Wapping to Rotherhithe.

The idea of tunnelling beneath the Thames dates back to at least the 18thC. The stimulus for this was the way in which the river was a physical barrier that was slowing transport, and therefore trade, between the City of London and Southwark. In 1805 the Thames Archway Company sank a shaft at Rotherhithe. In 1807 Richard Trevithick was appointed to lead the project. The following year the river broke into the tunnel and the excavation was abandoned.

In 1818 Sir Marc Brunel patented a tunnelling shield; he is meant to have been inspired to create it by the example of worms burrowing through ships timbers. Five years later Parliament authorised Brunel's plan for a Thames Tunnel. In 1825 work was started. The building process had a decidedly stop-start character due to a succession of shortfalls in its financing. In 1828 the excavation was bricked up because there was not money available. Seven years later construction resumed. The Thames Tunnel had been planned to be a passageway for vehicles. However, there was insufficient capital to build the necessary approaches. In 1843 it opened as a foot tunnel. Initially, it caused a sensation. However, it fell into disrepute as a result of some of the people who chose to lurk within it in an unsavoury manner.1

In 1865 the East London Railway Company took over the tunnel. Four years later train services started to run through it. It now serves as part of the Shoreditch-New Cross section of London Overground.

Location: Wapping Underground Station, Wapping High Street, E1W 3NX (red, turquoise)

See Also: RAILWAYS Richard Trevithick; RAILWAY STATIONS Paddington Railway Station

Website: https://thebrunelmuseum.com/visiting-us/grand-entrance-hall

1. The Tower Bridge Walkway was to suffer the same fate.

David Backhouse 2024