The Thames Tunnel, from Old and New London

What it is

This is a page from Old and New London, a book by Walter Thornbury published in 1889. It shows a black and white engraving in two parts. The upper part shows a riverside with moored sailing ships, warehouses, a round building and a smokestack. The lower part shows a vaulted brick tunnel with arched openings, stairs with iron railings, and people walking. The image is titled The Thames Tunnel, as it appeared when originally opened for traffic.

Why it matters

The Thames Tunnel was the first major project of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Thornbury wrote about it in 1889, thirty years after Brunel's death in 1859, so the book is a later account that looks back at his work. It shows how a Victorian writer presented an engineering project to readers of London history.

Look closer

• What does the upper part of the engraving show about the river and the town, and what does the lower part show about the tunnel?
• Why might an author writing about London's history in 1889 include an engraving of a tunnel?
• Since Thornbury wrote long after the events, what might he have chosen to emphasise or leave out?