12 Facts About Thames Tunnel

Thames Tunnel is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping.

Thames Tunnel was originally designed for horse-drawn carriages, but was mainly used by pedestrians and became a tourist attraction.

Financing was found from private investors, including the Duke of Wellington, and a Thames Tunnel Company was formed in 1824, the project beginning in February 1825.

Thames Tunnel flooded again the following year, on 12 January 1828, by which six men died.

Thames Tunnel was sent to Brislington, near Bristol, to recuperate; there he heard about the competition to build what became the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

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That very mishap, When the Thames Tunnel forced a gap, And made it fit haunt for an otter, Has proved that your schemeIs no catchpenny dream;—They can't say "'twill never hold water".

The American traveller William Allen Drew commented that "No one goes to London without visiting the Thames Tunnel" and described it as the "eighth wonder of the world".

The Thames Tunnel appears to be well ventilated, as the air seemed neither damp nor close.

The partition between these Arches, running the whole length of the Thames Tunnel, is cut into transverse arches, leading through from one roadsted to the other.

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

Construction of the Thames Tunnel showed that it was indeed possible to build underwater tunnels, despite the previous scepticism of many engineers.

In 1991, the Thames Tunnel was designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Civil Engineers.