LGBTQ+ History Month: Anne Lister, aka Gentleman Jack, ‘ungentlemanned’ at the Thames Tunnel
In celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month, Jack Hayes shares new information about the visits of pioneering queer figure Anne Lister (1791-1840) to the Thames Tunnel. From proposing the Tunnel as a venue for an ‘ungentlemanned’ date with a woman, to considering Brunel’s innovative tunnelling methods in relation to mines on her family’s estate, Lister’s visits …
In defence of pests – Terredo Navalis
As The Guardian invites nominations for its second Invertebrate of the Year competition, we’re inviting readers to learn more about the humble shipworm, Teredo navalis, and consider nominating it before 4 March. It is often suggested that Marc’s inspiration for his tunnelling shield was the humble shipworm, Terredo Navalis. This tiny creature bores into ships’ timbers. …
Brunel Museum shortlisted for Best Event at Cultural Enterprise Awards
The Brunel Museum has been shortlisted for Best Event in the Cultural Enterprise Awards 2025. The Brunel Museum’s iconic Thames Tunnel Shaft hosted British Youth Opera’s production of The Rape of Lucretia, creating a truly unique cultural event. The atmospheric, subterranean space transformed the production into a gripping, immersive experience, making it one of the …
Why doesn’t this vase have room for flowers?
Tucked amongst the collection of Thames Tunnel memorabilia on display in the Brunel Museum is a small ceramic vase depicting a couple and their countryside cottage. It has a single, thin hollow stem, formed from a tree growing behind the cottage. Unlike all the other examples of Tunnel memorabilia at the Brunel Museum, it does …
Brunel Museum publishes its Research, Public History and Science Outreach Report 2024
Today, the Brunel Museum published its first Research, Public History, and Science Outreach report, detailing its activities in these areas. This Research, Public History, and Science Outreach Report 2024 is available to read here. With the generous support of funders including the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund, as well as the hard work …
New For 2025: £2 Tickets for Locals!
One piece of feedback we often receive is that our local communities would love to benefit from reduced price entry. We agree, and have been working behind the scenes to put this in place! For 2025, we have decided to introduce a locals tickets. This will be open to all those living in the SE16 …
Five Sisters, an Inheritance, and the Thames Tunnel
Of the 243 people who invested money in 1824 to finance the construction of the Thames Tunnel, only eight were women. Five of these eight were sisters. In this blog, Jack Hayes uncovers the story of the five orphaned sisters who invested in the Thames Tunnel Company. Shrewd international businesswomen from Rotherhithe, the sisters navigated …
What was it like to work for Brunel? Gilbert Blount, Tunnel Superintendent
In this blog, Jack Hayes (Collections Access Coordinator), examines a little-known archive detailing the early career of Gilbert Blount, who worked under Marc Brunel between 1840-42. Far from being the perfect job, working life at the Tunnel seems at times to have been a little disorganised, and quite stressful – though undoubtedly Blount’s experience working …
‘Such patronage as in your situation and in his may be proper’ – How Alexander Hamilton helped Marc Brunel get to England
Why would Alexander Hamilton, one of the leaders of the American Revolution, want to help Marc Brunel, a Frenchman, get to Great Britain – the former colonial power against whom the Revolution had been fought? Museum volunteer Mark Kleinman has been researching Marc Brunel’s relationship with Hamilton, and presents some first findings below. On 7 …
Brunel’s Buckles Now Sparkling Once Again, Thanks to Conservation Work
With the generous support of the Costume Society’s Daphne Bullard Grant, we were excited to invite Joanna Whalley, a metals and jewellery conservator, to the Museum to carry out conservation work on the pair of shoe buckles once owned by Marc Brunel in our collection. Donated by Brunel’s descendants in 2007, little was known about …