There had been an increasing need for a new connection between the north and south banks of the Thames to link the expanding docks on each side.

In 1818, the Anglo-French engineer Marc Brunel had patented the tunnelling shield, a revolutionary advance in tunnelling technology. Five years later, he produced a plan for a tunnel between Rotherhithe and Wapping, which would be dug using the shield. Financing was found from private investors and the project began in February 1825.

The tunnelling shield was built at Henry Maudslay’s Lambeth works and assembled in the Rotherhithe shaft. Its main innovation was the support for the unlined ground in front and around it to reduce the risk of collapses. Many workers, including Marc Brunel, fell ill from the filthy sewage-laden water seeping through from the river above. The main engineer himsef, John Armstrong, fell ill in April 1826. Marc’s son Isambard Kingdom Brunel took over at the age of 20.

The tunnel flooded on 18 May 1827. Isambard Kingdom Brunel lowered a diving bell from a boat to repair the hole at the bottom of the river, throwing bags filled with clay into the breach. The tunnel flooded again on 12 January 1828, when six men died. Financial problems followed this and in August 1828, the tunnel was walled off and abandoned for seven years.

In December 1834 Marc Brunel succeeded in raising enough money to continue construction. The rusting shield was dismantled and removed. A new shield, improved and heavier, was assembled in place and tunnelling resumed.

After many further construction issues, the rest of the tunnelling was completed by the end of 1841.

The Thames Tunnel was fitted out with lighting, roadways and staircases between 1841 and 1842. An engine house on the Rotherhithe bank was constructed to house the machinery for draining the tunnel. The tunnel was finally opened to the public on 25 March 1843.

Though it became a major tourist attraction - attracting about two million people each year - the Thames Tunnel was not a financial success.

The tunnel was purchased in September 1865 by the East London Railway Company, a consortium of six railways which sought to use the tunnel to provide a rail link for goods and passengers between Wapping and south London.

The first train ran through the tunnel on 7 December 1869. In 1884, the tunnel’s disused construction shaft to the north of the river was repurposed to serve as Wapping station.


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