This is a photograph of a commemorative banquet held inside the Thames Tunnel in 1997 to celebrate the completion of refurbishment work on the Tunnel, during which the entire Tunnel was relined in shotcrete which recreated the original vaulted arches and other architectural features.
This banquet, held in the small section of the Tunnel which was not relined and instead retained the original lining for heritage reasons, was a deliberate recreation of the well-known banquet of 1827, depicted in a painting now at Ironbridge Gorge (AE185.157). As is visible in this object, attendees received two commemorative gifts: a before/after print (see LDBRU:2026.2[a]); and a brick core paperweight (see LDBRU:2024.2).