TECHNICAL | SHAFTS & CAVERNS
BRUNEL SHAFT ANNIVERSARY
Paving the way for a tunnelling revolution, 200 years ago shaft sinking started on Brunel’s Thames Tunnel.
Everything has a beginning, such as in the early 19th Century when Marc Brunel developed plans to build the Thames Tunnel. . His dream began to enter reality 200 years ago, in 1825, when shaft sinking began on the project that would advance technology for the tunnelling industry. Built in well under a year, the shaft is now a Grade
II Listed historical structure, says The Brunel Museum Thames Tunnel, which is located beside the tunnel in Rotherhithe, on the south side of the river, in south east London. Excavation work for the approx. 50ft-diameter
(15.4m) shaft began in the spring of 1825. The dig began with a iron hoop built directly upon the ground surface, as explained by the museum. With the hoop in place it was then weighted with brickwork, causing the ring to slowly sink into the ground, at a rate of a few inches per day. The ground within the ring was excavated and the shaft constructed progressively, more bricks laid layer upon layer. Later in 1825 the 50ft-deep brick-lined shaft reached
its required depth. Preparations could begin for main tunnelling below the Thames Tunnel across to the other bank, using Brunel’s then new shield technology. However, it would take another 18 years before the under-river fixed link would open for service, and that 200th anniversary will not be until 2043. The majority of the construction effort and time
to create the Thames Tunnel was needed, of course, to drive the main tunnel, slowly digging through challenging ground conditions. The main construction period took 16 years, records Sir Alan Muir Wood in his book ‘Tunnelling: Management by Design’, when discussing the importance of the project in a backgrounder to modern tunnelling. Muir Wood (1994a) describes the shield as comprising
11 (later 12) vertical cast-iron frames, each with a stack of three cells. The head and sides of the shield had cutting edges. The face was supported by elm poling boards, braced by screw-jacks. As excavation advanced, the cutting edge would be extended by wrought-iron skirts at the rear, providing safe space to build the brick lining. Individual frames jacked against the brickwork to push forward. The construction period was prolonged, and
effectively doubled, due to delays caused by flooding. After a mid-1827 flood and inflow of ground, the tunnel
10 | October 2025
was bricked up temporarily, sealed while recovery plans, and further funding rounds, pushed on. The works went in hiatus over 1827/28-1836, says the museum. Once resumed, tunnel construction was completed in 1841, notes Muir Wood in his book. Two years later the Thames Tunnel opened for service, with tiled brickwork. Initially, it was to be a dedicated cargo tunnel,
says the museum. Muir Wood’s book notes that predominantly horse-drawn cargo traffic was to help serve the docks then under construction on the south bank of the Thames. However, by its opening the service use had changed to be a foot tunnel. The shaft became the Grand Entrance Hall and had two wooden staircases, says the museum. Fairs and banquets were popular events organised in the unique space below the river. Visitor numbers were large. In 1865 the tunnel was bought by a rail company,
resulting in the shaft then put to work as a ventilation conduit for steam trains that started using the link from 1869. Much later again, the tunnel became part of the capital’s tube network, as part of the short East London Line. Later still it was re-lined and upgraded as the east London area was being economically re-developed. In 2010 it became part of the London Overground network. Today, the museum now uses the shaft space and
again events are hosted, and tours. Visitors are able to descend into the shaft space via a recently installed cantilevered staircase that is freestanding from the shaft walls. Visitors can also learn about the tunnel design,
including details in the collection of watercolours, drawings and sketches acquired by the museum in 2017. The visuals date from before Brunel’s patent, in 1818, but are mostly from about then up to 1837 - which was 12 years after main tunnels works started, and by when the hiatus was over and tunnelling was again underway.
Website:
https://thebrunelmuseum.com
Papers and books by Sir Alan Muir Wood discussing the Thames Tunnel include: ● Muir Wood, A. (1994a) ‘The Thames Tunnel 1825- 43: where shield tunnelling began.’ Proc ICE Civil Engineering, 102, pp130-9
● Muir Wood, A. (2000) ‘Tunnelling: Management by Design’
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