A small London museum dedicated to the first tunnel in the world to be built under a major river will close in September to undergo a £1.85m revamp.
The Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe, south-east London, focuses on Sir Marc Isambard Brunel’s tunnel under the Thames, which now holds the London Overground’s East London Line (recently renamed the Windrush line).
Isambard Kingdom Brunel worked with his father Sir Marc on the project from 1823 and was appointed resident engineer in January 1827 at the age of 20.
The museum is home to the tunnel shaft, a Grade II*-listed structure and the world’s first caisson – a watertight retaining structure used to work on the foundations of another structure, such as a bridge pier or dam. The chamber is half the size of Shakespeare’s Globe.
The Brunels organised the world’s first underground concert party in the Thames Tunnel in 1827.
In 2022, the museum secured £1.85m in funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund towards the Brunel Museum Reinvented project.
The works will include restoration of the existing Engine House and creation of a new gallery, and a new Welcome Pavilion with a coffee shop. In addition, 30 watercolours known as the Thames Tunnel Archive will be displayed for the first time.
The three-year revamp aims to be completed by 2025 to coincide with the 200-year anniversary of work beginning on the Thames Tunnel.
