UCL Rare-Books Club: the Thames Tunnel, the 'eighth wonder of the world'

The Thames Tunnel, a Brunel family project

For this session UCL Special Collections staff will be joined by staff and volunteers from the https://thebrunelmuseum.com/

Come along to learn more about the tunnel, built by Marc and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the early 1800s to connect Rotherhithe and Wapping in East London. It was the world's first known tunnel through soft ground under a navigable river, where the Brunels hosted an underwater concert party in 1827. An extraordinary engineering project, the tunnel was first intended for horse-drawn carriages but later carried the train line that became part of the London Underground.

Maps, plans and memoirs

We'll be looking together at maps from UCL's London History Collection showing the tunnel, the geology of the surrounding land, and the built and unbuilt plans for expanding the train network. We'll also look at reports and memoirs on the building project which reveal debates on funding and work completion not unfamiliar from current transport projects in the UK today.

UCL Rare-Books Club aims to promote UCL Special Collections  for research, and to facilitate conversations between curators, research students and professional researchers working on the collections, but sessions are open to all. They are programmed and chaired by Dr. Tabitha Tuckett, UCL Rare-Books And Academic Liaison Librarian.

Details of the full programme will be posted on our UCL Rare-Books Club Eventbrite listings