Collection
Discover our collection of objects.
SS Great Eastern Stereocard
Anonymous stereocard showing the SS Great Eastern off the coast of Southampton
French Revolutionary Banknote
Assignat of 25 sols, printed following the French Revolution of 1789
Four lithograph views of the Tunnel
A lithograph section of the whole tunnel with three vignettes of the movable stage and other views below (number 1-4), drawn by 'Wm Westall'.
Map showing the progress of the Tunnel
Lithographic overview of the 'Great Descents' (similar to the previous but in a smaller format and omitting the tunnel cross-section), lithographed by Warrington after Pinchback; marked up by Brunel, with in the margin pencilled calculations as to the length of tunnel required for completion, and in the map itself in ink with the same calculations (marked as 727ft 9in at the position of the shield, plus notes of the position of the old shield, compass points, etc.)
Sketch of the timbering for the removal of the old shield
Small drawing; a pen-and-ink study, presumably by Richard Beamish, of the timbering for the removal of the old shield
Watercolour of planned Shaft and section of a Tunnel
Watercolour of a longitudinal section showing the Rotherhithe shaft with the first section of tunnel constructed, with two miners in profile working at the upper and lower sections of the shield, two gentlemen inspecting the works [possibly Brunel and a visitor], and a miner wheeling away soil in a barrow; cut from a larger sheet.
Side view of the Thames Tunnel after flooding
Watercolour conveying "Longitudinal section of part of Thames tunnel showing the state of the strata and coveringafter the Run of Sand", signed with monogram [?] "R.P.", inscribed to Brunel's son-in-law Benjamin Hawes MP, dated "3
March 1837".
Cross-section of the Thames Tunnel after flooding
Watercolour featuring a "Transverse section of the Thames tunnel and strata...", extensively annotated, and signed with monogram [?] "R.P.", inscribed to Brunel's son-in-law Benjamin Hawes MP, dated "3 March 1837".
Watercolour of a cylindrical tunnelling shield
Watercolour featuring a cylindrical tunnelling shield with crank (apparently for propelling cast-iron segments into place), cut from a larger sheet (conjoint with LDBRU:2017.19), with scale of feet, dated "September 1818".
Two watercolour views of a cylindrical tunnelling shield
Cylindrical tunnelling shield, two views, one with a miner at work, cut from a larger sheet with ink-ruled border at left-hand and lower edge (conjoint with LDBRU:2017.20)
Sketch for a proposed cast-iron tunnel
Pen-and-ink engineering drawings for a tunnel in cast iron, dated "10 April 1818", and extensively annotated in French and English by Brunel, with notes on brickwork laid in cement and of the cast iron shell indicating thickness at the crown and sides;
subscribed "The Cast Iron for a Tunnel of this nature will not exceed 200 Tons for every 100 feet run including the
drain".
Side view of the flooded Tunnel
Watercolour of a longitudinal section (attributable to Joseph Pinchback) of the tunnel, showing the inundation of the river into the workings and the mass of bagged clay dropped on a raft into the riverbed to fill the gap, with the Brunels' engineering assistant Richard Beamish examining the state of the shield with the aid of a bull's-eye; lantern, his companion in a boat; feint caption in pencil "No. 8"
Cross-section of the Tunnel and displaced ground
Watercolour illustrating a "Cross Section of the Tunnel showing the extent of displaced ground" at Trinity High Water and Low Water, signed by Joseph Pinchback.
Watercolour of the timbering for the removal of the old Shield
Watercolour depicting the "Timbering for the Removal of the Old Shield/ Side Timbering", signed "Rich. Beamish"; cut from a larger sheet
Sketch of a proposed cylindrical tunnel
Autograph sketch-plan by Brunel showing two sections of the proposed cylindrical tunnel, one empty, the other with a coach passing through with wounded veteran and prosperous gentleman across the divide, dated "10 April 1818", and captioned "Two Tunnels of 17 f[eet]. D[iameter] each would be preferable to one of 24 feet".
‘Cross-section of a Tunnel for the use of infantry, shown in its full extent’
Watercolour of a proposed Tunnel for military use, drawn by Joseph Pinchback in 1818 and captioned in French by Marc Brunel
Watercolour of proposed three-part Shield
Watercolour showing a section of a tripartite shield with twelve miners at work in the shield; with partial ink border and seemingly a companion piece of LDBRU:2017.11, originally part of the same sheet.
Watercolour of proposed three-part tunnel
Watercolour representing a section of the tunnel, showing on the left a stagecoach riding through the tunnel, to the centre and right men at work in the shield; with partial ink border (cut from a larger sheet).
Four views of the Tunnelling Shield
A technical illustration of one of Brunel’s early designs for a method of tunnelling.
Watercolour of the Tunnel and Shield
Watercolour depicting a section of the tunnel, shield and movable stage, showing one of the arches not yet cut out from the encasing brickwork, attributed to Joseph Pinchback.
Watercolour of the Rotherhithe Shaft
Watercolour depicting the "Mode of Sinking the Shaft" which shows the Rotherhithe shaft surmounted by a steam engine powering buckets-and-pulley soil extraction, with miners digging at the face, attributable to Joseph Pinchback.
Watercolour of proposed tunnelling Shield
Watercolour depicting three miners at work in the tunnel; shows how miners would dig forward, and the whole shield would be driven forward by hydraulics, in exactly the way that was eventually used, on a larger scale, in the "Great Shield"
Print of one frame of the Shield
A small woodcut engraving of isometrical sketch (based on the watercolour isometrical projection) depicting sections of the "Great Shield", credited to 'R. Beamish' and 'W. Warrington'.
Watercolour of one frame of the Shield
Watercolour depicting an "Isometrical projection of one of the Twelve Iron Frames forming the Shield/ shewing
the manner in which the ground in front was altogether supported", headed "One Frame", signed R. Beamish.
Watercolour cross-section of the Tunnel
Watercolour depicting a cross-section of the whole tunnel (attributable to Brunel's chief mechanical draftsman, Joseph Pinchback), extending halfway across the river, including the Rotherhithe shaft plus sump and nearby buildings.
Sketch of a descent in the diving bell
Sketch by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, dated 1827, depicting his descent in a diving bell to inspect the damage following a flood in the Thames Tunnel.
Cheque signed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
A cheque from Isambard Kingdom Brunel dated December 8th 1835
Thames Tunnel Peepshow with barge
A contemporary paper peepshow, circa 1843, depicting the Tunnel
Thames Tunnel Dual-Layer Peepshow
A contemporary dual-layer peepshow before 1843, with vista above and below the Thames
Thames Tunnel Stereoscopic Peepshow
A contemporary peepshow circa 1852, with a vista of the Tunnel