The Brunel Museum is a small museum situated at the Brunel Engine House,

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

. The Engine House was designed by Sir

Marc Isambard Brunel Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (, ; 25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-British engineer who is most famous for the work he did in Britain. He constructed the Thames Tunnel and was the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Born in Franc ...

as part of the infrastructure of the

Thames Tunnel The Thames Tunnel is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures 35 feet (11 m) wide by 20 feet (6 m) high and is 1,300 feet (396 m) long, running at a depth of ...

which opened in 1843 and was the first tunnel to be built under a navigable river anywhere in the world. It comprises the Engine House and the Tunnel Shaft, with rooftop garden.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

worked with his father on the project from 1823 and was appointed Resident Engineer in January 1827 at the age of 20.

Tunnel Shaft / Grand Entrance Hall

The museum site includes the Tunnel Shaft which was the world's first caisson. A tower of brick 3 ft thick and 50 ft in diameter was built above ground to a height of 42 ft. It was then sunk under its own weight to a depth of 40 feet. The remaining 20 ft of shaft necessary to achieve the correct level for digging the tunnel was constructed by under-pinning. The tunnelling was done by miners standing within an iron shield (or ambulating cofferdam) designed and patented by

. The shaft was extensively refurbished in 2016, with a staircase added to improve access.

Brunel Engine House

The Engine House was designed by Sir

to be part of the infrastructure of the

. It held steam-powered pumps used to extract water from the

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

. The museum houses a model of the tunnelling shield as well as images and artefacts from when the tunnel was in use as a pedestrian thoroughfare between

and

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

. Since 1961 the building has been used as a museum, displaying information on the construction of the tunnel and the other projects by Marc and

. Structural decay was prevented in 1975 by a charitable trust named "Brunel Exhibition Rotherhithe". In 2006 the museum changed its name from Brunel Engine House to Brunel Museum and expanded its exhibition to include a new mural on the shaft showing the tunnel shield, and other works by the Brunels, such as models of famous Brunel bridges incorporated into bench seating. In 2018, the museum raised more than £200,000, including a major grant from the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...

, to buy an album including a collection of drawings of the Thames Tunnel, prepared or overseen by Marc Isambard Brunel (1769 –1849).

Open House Weekend

The Brunel Museum takes part in the

Open House Weekend Open House London is an annual festival celebrating the architecture and urban landscape of London. It is staged by the charity Open City which campaigns to make London a more accessible, equitable and open city. During the Open House festival, ...

event every year and, until the East London Line's temporary closure in 2007, took parties of people through the tunnel on the Underground trains as part of a guided tour of the tunnel. They also host a variety of other events through the year, especially during school holidays. There are also walks/tours in person and online.

Refurbishment

The museum underwent major building works in 2007. This entailed relocating the Rennie flat V steam engine to the Chatham Historic Dockyard to create a larger exhibition space, a cafe and improved toilet facilities. With the closure of the East London Line in December 2007 for extensive upgrading, the museum hoped that the access shaft into the tunnel (originally built to be the grand entrance hall to the tunnel) could be capped with a concrete shelf at the bottom, above the level of the trains. This shelf was completed in early 2010, with the inauguration taking place in late January. The access shaft took in its first groups from the general public on 14 February 2010 (

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

) when it was opened as the 'Tunnel of Love' for short historical presentations detailing the history of the tunnel and historical notes from the private life and diary of Brunel's son, Isambard. The shaft now houses exhibition and performance space.

The Brunel Museum Reinvented project

In 2019, the museum received development funding from the

Heritage Fund Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

and other funders to transform their offer. If the next stage of the application is successful, this project will conserve the historic building, improve visitor facilities and provide a home for the recently acquired collection of Marc Brunel's Thames Tunnel watercolour designs. They will also be able to offer a wider range of events and activities for people. As of September 2020 this project is at the community consultation stage.

References

Notes

Bibliography

*''The Brunels' Tunnel'',

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

(Foreword), Andrew Mathewson (Author), Derek Laval (Author), Julia Elton (Author), Eric Kentley (Author, Editor), The Brunel Museum (24 May 2006),

External links

*
Photos of the Brunel Museum
archived in 2006 {{coord, 51.5016, -0.0530, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Infrastructure in London Works of Isambard Kingdom Brunel Technology museums in the United Kingdom Museums in the London Borough of Southwark Rotherhithe Engine houses