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{{Short description|Tunnel beneath the River Thames in Central London, England}}
{{Short description|Tunnel beneath the River Thames in Central London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
[[File:Tower subway map.gif|250px|thumb|Location of the Tower Subway (1895)]]
[[File:Tower subway map.gif|250px|thumb|Location of the Tower Subway (1895)]]


The '''Tower Subway''' is a tunnel beneath the [[River Thames]] in [[central London]], between [[Tower Hill, London|Tower Hill]] on the north bank of the river and Vine Lane (off [[Tooley Street]]) on the south. In 1869 a {{convert|1340|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} circular tunnel was dug through the [[London clay]] using a cast iron circular [[Tunnelling shield|shield]] independently invented and built by [[James Henry Greathead]], similar to an idea that had been patented in 1864 by [[Peter W. Barlow]], but never built.<ref name="Copperthwaite20">{{cite book|last1=Copperthwaite|first1=William Charles|title=Tunnel shields and the use of compressed air in subaqueous works|date=1906|publisher=Van Nostrand Co|location=New York|page=20 |edition=1 |chapter=The Shield: Its Early History, 1818 to 1880|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009260636|access-date=21 May 2018|hdl=2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t2r49hs0g}}</ref>
The '''Tower Subway''' is a tunnel beneath the [[River Thames]] in [[central London]], between [[Tower Hill, London|Tower Hill]] on the north bank of the river and Vine Lane (off [[Tooley Street]]) on the south. In 1869 a {{convert|1340|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} circular tunnel was dug through the [[London clay]] using a cast iron circular [[Tunnelling shield|shield]] independently invented and built by [[James Henry Greathead]], similar to an idea that had been patented in 1864 by [[Peter W. Barlow]] but never built.<ref name="Copperthwaite20">{{cite book|last1=Copperthwaite|first1=William Charles|title=Tunnel shields and the use of compressed air in subaqueous works|date=1906|publisher=Van Nostrand Co|location=New York|page=20 |edition=1 |chapter=The Shield: Its Early History, 1818 to 1880|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009260636|access-date=21 May 2018|hdl=2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t2r49hs0g}}</ref>


A {{RailGauge|2ft6in|lk=on}} [[narrow-gauge railway]] was laid in the tunnel and from August 1870 a cable-hauled wooden carriage conveyed passengers from one end to the other. This was uneconomic and the company went bankrupt by the end of the year. The tunnel was converted to pedestrian use and one million people a year crossed under the river, paying a toll of a [[Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)|ha'penny]]. The opening of the toll-free [[Tower Bridge]] nearby in 1894 caused a drop in income and the tunnel closed in 1898, after being sold to the [[London Hydraulic Power Company]]. Today the tunnel is used for water mains and telecommunications cables.
A {{RailGauge|2ft6in|lk=on}} [[narrow-gauge railway]] was laid in the tunnel and from August 1870, a cable-hauled wooden carriage conveyed passengers from one end to the other. This was not a financial success, however, and the company went bankrupt by the end of the year. The tunnel was converted to pedestrian use and one million people a year crossed under the river, paying a toll of a [[Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin)|ha'penny]]. The opening of the toll-free [[Tower Bridge]] nearby in 1894 caused a drop in income and the tunnel closed in 1898, after being sold to the [[London Hydraulic Power Company]]. Today the tunnel is used for water mains and telecommunications cables.


The same shield method of construction was used in 1890 to dig the tunnels of the [[City and South London Railway]], the first of London's electrified "[[London Underground|Tube]]" railways and the first underground electrified railway in the world.<ref name="Wright1">{{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=Laurence|title=James Henry Greathead and the London Underground|journal=Literator|date=24 July 2017|volume=38|issue=1|page=12|doi=10.4102/lit.v38i1.1324|doi-access=free}}</ref>
The same shield method of construction was used in 1890 to dig the tunnels of the [[City and South London Railway]], the first of London's electrified "[[London Underground|Tube]]" railways and the first underground [[Railway electrification|electrified railway]] in the world.<ref name="Wright1">{{cite journal|last1=Wright|first1=Laurence|title=James Henry Greathead and the London Underground|journal=Literator|date=24 July 2017|volume=38|issue=1|page=12|doi=10.4102/lit.v38i1.1324|doi-access=free}}</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
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In 1864 Peter Barlow applied for a patent design of a circular [[cast iron]] shield for tunnelling <ref name="C&J">{{cite book|last1=Croome|first1=D.|last2=Jackson|first2=A|title=Rails Through The Clay&nbsp;– A History of London's Tube Railways|edition=2nd|year=1993|publisher=Capital Transport|isbn=978-1-85414-151-4|pages=12–13}}</ref> To fill the gap between the tunnel lining and wall with [[Lime (material)|lime]] or cement to prevent settling of the surrounding ground, but it was Greathead who invented a device to inject the grout. Unfortunately, Barlow failed to explain how he intended to fill such gaps between shield and tunnel wall with grout.<ref name="Copperthwaite">{{cite book|last1=Copperthwaite|first1=William Charles|title=Tunnel shields and the use of compressed air in subaqueous works, With 260 illustrations and diagrams.|date=1906|publisher=Van Nostrand Co|location=New York|page=20|edition=1}}</ref> He published a pamphlet in 1867 suggesting a network of tunnels with cars carrying up to twelve people.<ref name="D&R"/> In 1868 authority was obtained in the '''{{visible anchor|Tower Subway Act 1868}}''' ([[31 & 32 Vict.]] c. viii) for a tunnel under the Thames between Great Tower Hill and Pickle Herring Stairs near Vine Street (now Vine Lane),<ref>31 & 32 Vict c.viii</ref><ref name="C&J"/><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33862 |date=June 1868 |page=3122}}</ref> but there was a delay finding a contractor due to recent experiences with the [[Thames Tunnel]] until his former pupil [[James Henry Greathead]] tendered for £9,400.<ref name="C&J"/> Whilst Barlow patented his idea in 1864 for a tunnelling shield, he never constructed it before his death: Greathead was accredited with the first shield construction for what is now known as the Tower Gateway complex in 1869. According to [[William Charles Copperthwaite]], who once studied and worked under Greathead,<ref name="Copperthwaite" /> both Greathead in England, and [[Alfred Ely Beach]] in New York, invented and constructed their own versions of tunnelling shields simultaneously and independently of each other.<ref name="Copperthwaite" />
In 1864, Peter Barlow applied for a patent design of a circular [[cast iron]] shield for tunnelling to fill the gap between the tunnel lining and wall with [[Lime (material)|lime]] or cement to prevent settling of the surrounding ground.<ref name="C&J">{{cite book |last1=Croome |first1=D. |title=Rails Through The Clay&nbsp;– A History of London's Tube Railways |last2=Jackson |first2=A |publisher=Capital Transport |year=1993 |isbn=978-1-85414-151-4 |edition=2nd |pages=12–13}}</ref> Unfortunately, Barlow failed to explain how he intended to fill such gaps between shield and tunnel wall with grout and he never constructed it before his death. Greathead, however, invented a device to inject the grout and was accredited with the first shield construction for what is now known as the [[Tower Gateway]] complex in 1869.<ref name="Copperthwaite">{{cite book |last1=Copperthwaite |first1=William Charles |title=Tunnel shields and the use of compressed air in subaqueous works, With 260 illustrations and diagrams. |date=1906 |publisher=Van Nostrand Co |edition=1 |location=New York |page=20}}</ref>  


Beach used a circular shield remarkably similar to [[Peter W. Barlow]]'s patent application design. This would not have been an unexpected event as Beach oversaw a successful patent agency<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-first-subway-in-new-york-city-was-a-cylindrical-car-pushed-by-air/ | title=The First Subway in New York City Was a Cylindrical Car Pushed by Air | website=[[Scientific American]] | date=September 2020 }}</ref> in [[New York City|New York]] as the editor of ''[[The Scientific American]]'', and may well have heard of Tower Subway developments in London and found Barlow's patent application.
Barlow published a pamphlet in 1867, "On the Relief of London Street Traffic", suggesting a network of tunnels with cars carrying up to twelve people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=British Association for the Advancement of Science |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dMOAQAAMAAJ&dq=Barlow+published+a+pamphlet+in+1867&pg=PA534 |title=Report of the ... Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science |publisher=J. Murray |year=1892 |pages=534 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="D&R" /> In 1868, authority was obtained in the '''{{visible anchor|Tower Subway Act 1868}}''' ([[31 & 32 Vict.]] c. viii) for a tunnel under the Thames between Great Tower Hill and Pickle Herring Stairs near Vine Street (now Vine Lane),<ref>31 & 32 Vict c.viii</ref><ref name="C&J" /><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33862 |date=June 1868 |page=3122}}</ref> but there was a delay finding a contractor after experiences with the [[Thames Tunnel]] until his former pupil [[James Henry Greathead]] tendered for £9,400.<ref name="C&J" /> 
 
According to [[William Charles Copperthwaite]], who once studied and worked under Greathead,<ref name="Copperthwaite" /> both Greathead in England, and [[Alfred Ely Beach]] in New York, invented and constructed their own versions of tunnelling shields simultaneously and independently of each other.<ref name="Copperthwaite" /> Beach used a circular shield remarkably similar to [[Peter W. Barlow]]'s patent application design. This would not have been an unexpected event as Beach oversaw a successful patent agency<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-first-subway-in-new-york-city-was-a-cylindrical-car-pushed-by-air/ | title=The First Subway in New York City Was a Cylindrical Car Pushed by Air | website=[[Scientific American]] | date=September 2020 }}</ref> in [[New York City|New York]] as the editor of ''[[The Scientific American]]'', and may well have heard of Tower Subway developments in London and found Barlow's patent application.


Work on the Tower Subway began in February 1869 with the boring of entrance shafts,<ref name=subbrit/> {{convert|60|ft}} deep on the north bank and {{convert|50|ft}} deep on the south bank. The tunnelling itself started in April using the circular [[James Henry Greathead#Greathead Shield|Greathead shield]].
Work on the Tower Subway began in February 1869 with the boring of entrance shafts,<ref name=subbrit/> {{convert|60|ft}} deep on the north bank and {{convert|50|ft}} deep on the south bank. The tunnelling itself started in April using the circular [[James Henry Greathead#Greathead Shield|Greathead shield]].
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Whilst many argue that the shield used was a "Barlow–Greathead" shield, William Copperthwaite says "... in 1868 [Barlow] provisionally patented a shield having near the cutting edge a transverse partition or diaphragm. Neither of these designs took practical form, and in 1869 Greathead in England and Beach in New York actually built and used shields having many features in common with Barlow's patents but differing from each other in details... Beach's shield resembled Barlow's patent of 1864, and Greathead's the provisional patent of 1868."<ref name="Copperthwaite20"/> Copperthwaite puts to bed all arguments over origins of tunnelling shields as being the patented but unimplemented idea of Barlow's in 1864 but the actual construction of a different patented device by Greathead was built and first used on the Tower Subway and simultaneously in New York, Beach created and made his own shield independently of Barlow's and Greathead's designs.<ref name="Copperthwaite20" /> Barlow lost out on credit because he never actually constructed one, only patenting the idea.<ref name="Copperthwaite20" /> Copperthwaite also reveals that Greathead was unaware of the 1868 provisional patent of Barlow's until 1895, a fact discussed in an 1895 [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] paper on the City and South London Railway acknowledged by Barlow.<ref name="Copperthwaite20" />
Whilst many argue that the shield used was a "Barlow–Greathead" shield, William Copperthwaite says "... in 1868 [Barlow] provisionally patented a shield having near the cutting edge a transverse partition or diaphragm. Neither of these designs took practical form, and in 1869 Greathead in England and Beach in New York actually built and used shields having many features in common with Barlow's patents but differing from each other in details... Beach's shield resembled Barlow's patent of 1864, and Greathead's the provisional patent of 1868."<ref name="Copperthwaite20"/> Copperthwaite puts to bed all arguments over origins of tunnelling shields as being the patented but unimplemented idea of Barlow's in 1864 but the actual construction of a different patented device by Greathead was built and first used on the Tower Subway and simultaneously in New York, Beach created and made his own shield independently of Barlow's and Greathead's designs.<ref name="Copperthwaite20" /> Barlow lost out on credit because he never actually constructed one, only patenting the idea.<ref name="Copperthwaite20" /> Copperthwaite also reveals that Greathead was unaware of the 1868 provisional patent of Barlow's until 1895, a fact discussed in an 1895 [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] paper on the City and South London Railway acknowledged by Barlow.<ref name="Copperthwaite20" />


A tunnel {{convert|1340|ft}} long was dug with a diameter of {{convert|6|ft|7+3/4|in}},<ref name="C&J"/> a maximum of {{convert|66|ft}} below the high-water level.<ref name="D&R"/> This was bored through a stable layer of the London clay that lay {{convert|22|ft}} below the river bed, below the soft alluvial deposits that had plagued the construction by [[Marc Isambard Brunel|Brunel]] of the earlier Thames Tunnel. This, combined with the simpler nature of the project&nbsp;– the excavation face was only one twentieth that of the Thames Tunnel&nbsp;– enabled faster progress.<ref name="west"/> Screw jacks drove the shield forward at a rate of {{convert|37|ft|4|in}} each week.<ref name="C&J69">{{cite book|last1=Croome|first1=D.|last2=Jackson|first2=A|title=Rails Through The Clay&nbsp;– A History of London's Tube Railways|edition=2nd|year=1993|publisher=Capital Transport|isbn=978-1-85414-151-4|page=69}}</ref> The under-river section was dug in fourteen weeks and the tunnel completed in December 1869.<ref name="west">{{cite book|first=Graham|last=West|title=Innovation and the Rise of the Tunnelling Industry|page=117|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1988|isbn=978-0-521-33512-6}}</ref>
A tunnel {{convert|1340|ft}} long was dug with a diameter of {{convert|6|ft|7+3/4|in}},<ref name="C&J"/> a maximum of {{convert|66|ft}} below the high-water level.<ref name="D&R"/> This was bored through a stable layer of the London clay that lay {{convert|22|ft|0}} below the river bed, below the soft alluvial deposits that had plagued the construction by [[Marc Isambard Brunel|Brunel]] of the earlier Thames Tunnel. This, combined with the simpler nature of the project&nbsp;– the excavation face was only one twentieth that of the Thames Tunnel&nbsp;– enabled faster progress.<ref name="west"/> Screw jacks drove the shield forward at a rate of {{convert|37|ft|4|in}} each week.<ref name="C&J69">{{cite book|last1=Croome|first1=D.|last2=Jackson|first2=A|title=Rails Through The Clay&nbsp;– A History of London's Tube Railways|edition=2nd|year=1993|publisher=Capital Transport|isbn=978-1-85414-151-4|page=69}}</ref> The under-river section was dug in fourteen weeks and the tunnel completed in December 1869.<ref name="west">{{cite book|first=Graham|last=West|title=Innovation and the Rise of the Tunnelling Industry|page=117|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1988|isbn=978-0-521-33512-6}}</ref>


=== Cable railway ===
=== Cable railway ===
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The entrance shafts were fitted with steam-powered lifts for passengers. The tunnel was laid with {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} gauge railway track and a single car, carrying a maximum of 12 passengers, cable-hauled by two {{convert|4|hp|adj=on}} [[stationary steam engine]]s, one on each side of the river.
The entrance shafts were fitted with steam-powered lifts for passengers. The tunnel was laid with {{RailGauge|2ft6in}} gauge railway track and a single car, carrying a maximum of 12 passengers, cable-hauled by two {{convert|4|hp|adj=on}} [[stationary steam engine]]s, one on each side of the river.


The tunnel was completed by February 1870, and a press launch was held the following April.<ref name=subbrit/><ref>{{cite book |first=Walter |last=Thornbury |author-link=George Walter Thornbury |chapter=The Tower Subway and London Docks |title=Old and New London: Volume 2 |location=London |date=1878 |pages=122–128 |via=[[British History Online]] |chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2/pp122-128 |access-date=12 March 2022 |publisher=Cassell, Petter & Galpin, London}}</ref> The underground railway opened for public use on 2 August 1870<ref name="C&J"/><ref name=D&R>{{cite book |last1=Day |first1=John R. |last2=Reed |first2=John |title=The Story of London's Underground|edition=10th|year=2008|orig-date=1963|publisher=Capital Transport|isbn=978-1-85414-316-7|pages=38–39}}</ref> charging 2[[£sd|d]] for first class and 1d for second class, first class ticket holders merely having priority for the lifts and when boarding.<ref name=Wolmar>{{cite book |last=Wolmar |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Wolmar |year=2004 |title=The Subterranean Railway: how the London Underground was built and how it changed the city forever|publisher=Atlantic|isbn=978-1-84354-023-6}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} However, the system was unreliable and uneconomic. The company went into receivership in November 1870, and the railway closed on 7 December 1870, four months after opening.<ref name="C&J"/><ref name=subbrit/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39379/39379-h/39379-h.htm |pages=101–102 |date=1873 |publisher=William Collins, Sons and Company |title=Collins' Illustrated Guide to London and Neighbourhood}}</ref>
The tunnel was completed by February 1870, and a press launch was held the following April.<ref name=subbrit/><ref>{{cite book |first=Walter |last=Thornbury |author-link=George Walter Thornbury |chapter=The Tower Subway and London Docks |title=Old and New London: Volume 2 |location=London |date=1878 |pages=122–128 |via=[[British History Online]] |chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol2/pp122-128 |access-date=12 March 2022 |publisher=Cassell, Petter & Galpin, London}}</ref> The underground railway opened for public use on 2 August 1870<ref name="C&J"/><ref name=D&R>{{cite book |last1=Day |first1=John R. |last2=Reed |first2=John |title=The Story of London's Underground|edition=10th|year=2008|orig-date=1963|publisher=Capital Transport|isbn=978-1-85414-316-7|pages=38–39}}</ref> charging 2[[£sd|d]] for first class and 1d for second class, first class ticket holders merely having priority for the lifts and when boarding.<ref name=Wolmar>{{cite book |last=Wolmar |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Wolmar |year=2004 |title=The Subterranean Railway: how the London Underground was built and how it changed the city forever|page=163|publisher=Atlantic|isbn=978-1-84354-023-6}}</ref> However, the system was unreliable and uneconomic. The company went into receivership in November 1870, and the railway closed on 7 December 1870, four months after opening.<ref name="C&J"/><ref name=subbrit/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39379/39379-h/39379-h.htm |pages=101–102 |date=1873 |publisher=William Collins, Sons and Company |title=Collins' Illustrated Guide to London and Neighbourhood}}</ref>


=== Foot tunnel ===
=== Foot tunnel ===
[[File:Tower Subway 1870.jpg|thumb|The Tower Subway in 1870]]
[[File:Tower Subway 1870.jpg|thumb|The Tower Subway in 1870]]
The railcar and steam engines were removed, [[gaslight]]s installed and the passenger lifts replaced with spiral staircases. The tunnel opened to pedestrians on 24 December 1870<ref name=subbrit>{{cite web |url=https://www.subbrit.org.uk/sites/tower-subway/ |title=Tower Subway |website=Subterranea Britannica |first=Andy |last=Emmerson}}</ref> at a toll of {{fract|1|2}}d<ref name="Wolmar"/>{{page needed|date=July 2020}} and became a popular way to cross the river, averaging 20,000 people a week (one million a year).<ref name="west" /> Its main users were described as "the working classes who were formerly entirely dependent on the ferries".<ref name="smith" /> In September 1888 the subway briefly achieved notoriety after a man with a knife was seen in the tunnel at the time when [[Jack the Ripper]] was committing murders in nearby [[Whitechapel]].<ref>Patricia Cornwell, ''Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper&nbsp;– Case Closed'', p. 198. Berkeley Books, 2003. {{ISBN|0-425-19273-3}}</ref>
The railcar and steam engines were removed, [[gaslight]]s installed and the passenger lifts replaced with spiral staircases. The tunnel opened to pedestrians on 24 December 1870<ref name=subbrit>{{cite web |url=https://www.subbrit.org.uk/sites/tower-subway/ |title=Tower Subway |website=Subterranea Britannica |first=Andy |last=Emmerson}}</ref> at a toll of {{fract|1|2}}d<ref name="Wolmar"/> and became a popular way to cross the river, averaging 20,000 people a week (one million a year).<ref name="west" /> Its main users were described as "the working classes who were formerly entirely dependent on the ferries".<ref name="smith" /> In September 1888 the subway briefly achieved notoriety after a man with a knife was seen in the tunnel at the time when [[Jack the Ripper]] was committing murders in nearby [[Whitechapel]].<ref>Patricia Cornwell, ''Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper&nbsp;– Case Closed'', p. 198. Berkeley Books, 2003. {{ISBN|0-425-19273-3}}</ref>


In his ''[[Dickens's Dictionary of London|Dictionary of London]]'', [[Charles Dickens Jr]] commented on the smallness of the tunnel: "there is not much head-room left, and it is not advisable for any but the very briefest of Her Majesty's lieges to attempt the passage in high-heeled boots, or with a hat to which he attaches any particular value."<ref>{{cite web |last=Dickens |first=Charles Jr. |year=1879 |title=Tower Subway |work=[[Dickens's Dictionary of London]] |url=http://www.victorianlondon.org/thames/towersubway.htm |access-date=22 August 2007 |author-link=Charles Dickens, Jr.}}</ref>
In his ''[[Dickens's Dictionary of London|Dictionary of London]]'', [[Charles Dickens Jr]] commented on the smallness of the tunnel: "there is not much head-room left, and it is not advisable for any but the very briefest of Her Majesty's lieges to attempt the passage in high-heeled boots, or with a hat to which he attaches any particular value."<ref>{{cite web |last=Dickens |first=Charles Jr. |year=1879 |title=Tower Subway |work=[[Dickens's Dictionary of London]] |url=http://www.victorianlondon.org/thames/towersubway.htm |access-date=22 August 2007 |author-link=Charles Dickens, Jr.}}</ref>
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=== Utility tunnel ===
=== Utility tunnel ===
After its closure, the tunnel gained a new purpose as a route for [[hydraulic power network|hydraulic power]] mains operated by the LHPC and for [[water main]]s. It was damaged during the Second World War when a German bomb fell in the river near [[Tower Millennium Pier|Tower Pier]] in December 1940, and exploded on the river bed very close to the tunnel's roof. The shock of the blast compressed the tunnel radially, reducing its diameter to  {{convert|4|ft}} at the point of impact, but the tunnel's lining was not penetrated. During the course of repair work, it was found that&nbsp;– apart from the bomb damage&nbsp;– the tunnel had survived seventy years of use in excellent condition.<ref name="west" />
After its closure, the tunnel gained a new purpose as a route for [[hydraulic power network|hydraulic power]] mains operated by the LHPC and for [[water main]]s. It was damaged during the [[Second World War]] when a German bomb fell in the river near [[Tower Millennium Pier|Tower Pier]] in December 1940, and exploded on the river bed very close to the tunnel's roof. The shock of the blast compressed the tunnel radially, reducing its diameter to  {{convert|4|ft}} at the point of impact, but the tunnel's lining was not penetrated. During the course of repair work, it was found that&nbsp;– apart from the bomb damage&nbsp;– the tunnel had survived seventy years of use in excellent condition.<ref name="west" />


== The subway today ==
== The subway today ==
While it is no longer used for hydraulic tubes, the tunnel still carries water mains.<ref name=historicUK>{{cite web |title=Tower Subway – Part of the Secret London series |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Tower-Subway/ |website=Historic UK |access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref> The hydraulic tubes, once a major source of power in the centre of London, have since been replaced by fibre optic [[telecommunications]] links.<ref>{{cite web |website=Thames Discovery Programme |title=The Tower Subway |url=http://www.thamesdiscovery.org/frog-blog/the-tower-subway |access-date=19 March 2020 |date=15 April 2010}}</ref>
While it is no longer used for hydraulic tubes, the tunnel still carries water mains.<ref name=historicUK>{{cite web |title=Tower Subway – Part of the Secret London series |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Tower-Subway/ |website=Historic UK |access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref> The hydraulic tubes, once a major source of power in the centre of London, have since been replaced by fibre optic [[telecommunications]] links.<ref>{{cite web |website=Thames Discovery Programme |title=The Tower Subway |url=http://www.thamesdiscovery.org/frog-blog/the-tower-subway |access-date=19 March 2020 |date=15 April 2010}}</ref>


A small round entrance building survives at Tower Hill near the [[Tower of London]]'s ticket office, a short distance to the west of the main entrance to the Tower.<ref name=LostBrit>{{cite book |title=Lost Britain: An A–Z of Forgotten Landmarks and Lost Traditions |date= 2015 |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |isbn=978-1-78243-441-2 |oclc=946931884 |chapter=Hydraulic Power Company}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2022}} This is not the original entrance but was built in 1926 by the London Hydraulic Power Company, with a ring of lettering giving the original date of construction and naming the LHPC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tower Subway (London) Opened |url=https://www.bookofdaystales.com/tower-subway-london-opened/ |website=Book of Days Tales |access-date=19 March 2020 |date=2 August 2013}}</ref> The entrance on the south bank of the Thames was demolished in the 1990s, and a new one has been built in its place.<ref name=historicUK/><ref name=subbrit/> It is located just behind the [[Unicorn Theatre]] on [[Tooley Street]], but there is no plaque to mark the site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tower Subway below Thames 'not worth listing' – English Heritage |url=https://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/6661 |website=London SE1 |access-date=19 March 2020 |date=28 February 2013}}</ref>
A small round entrance building survives at Tower Hill near the [[Tower of London]]'s ticket office, a short distance to the west of the main entrance to the Tower.<ref name=LostBrit>{{cite book |title=Lost Britain: An A–Z of Forgotten Landmarks and Lost Traditions |date= 2015 |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |isbn=978-1-78243-441-2 |oclc=946931884 |chapter=Hydraulic Power Company}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2022}} This is not the original entrance but was built in 1926 by the [[London Hydraulic Power Company]], with a ring of lettering giving the original date of construction and naming the LHPC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tower Subway (London) Opened |url=https://www.bookofdaystales.com/tower-subway-london-opened/ |website=Book of Days Tales |access-date=19 March 2020 |date=2 August 2013}}</ref> The entrance on the south bank of the Thames was demolished in the 1990s, and a new one has been built in its place.<ref name=historicUK/><ref name=subbrit/> It is located just behind the [[Unicorn Theatre]] on [[Tooley Street]], but there is no plaque to mark the site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tower Subway below Thames 'not worth listing' – English Heritage |url=https://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/6661 |website=London SE1 |access-date=19 March 2020 |date=28 February 2013}}</ref>


A video inside the tunnel from the current owners, Vodafone, was released in February 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rare film from inside the Tower Subway tunnel |url=https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/rare-film-from-inside-the-tower-subway-tunnel-61318/ |website=ianVisits |access-date=17 March 2023 |date=16 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vodafone's mysterious tunnel |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY11tctPOnw |website=[[YouTube]] | date=16 February 2023 |publisher=[[Vodafone UK]] |access-date=16 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
A video inside the tunnel from the current owners, Vodafone, was released in February 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rare film from inside the Tower Subway tunnel |url=https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/rare-film-from-inside-the-tower-subway-tunnel-61318/ |website=ianVisits |access-date=17 March 2023 |date=16 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vodafone's mysterious tunnel |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY11tctPOnw |website=[[YouTube]] | date=16 February 2023 |publisher=[[Vodafone UK]] |access-date=16 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
Line 155: Line 158:
== External links ==
== External links ==
{{commons category}}
{{commons category}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/making_history/making_history_spring2003.shtml |series=Making History |title=Programme 3: The Tower Subway – the tunnel that Tower Bridge replaced |date=15 April 2003  |website=BBC Radio 4}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/making_history/making_history_spring2003.shtml |series=Making History |title=Programme 3: The Tower Subway – the tunnel that Tower Bridge replaced |date=15 April 2003  |website=BBC Radio 4}}
* {{cite web |url=http://perso.club-internet.fr/fdelaitre/Ths.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040218180043/http://perso.club-internet.fr/fdelaitre/Ths.htm |archive-date=2004-02-18 |title=Lost Subways: Tower Hill Subway}}
* {{cite web |url=http://perso.club-internet.fr/fdelaitre/Ths.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040218180043/http://perso.club-internet.fr/fdelaitre/Ths.htm |archive-date=2004-02-18 |title=Lost Subways: Tower Hill Subway}}
* {{cite web |url=http://lostindustry.org.uk/walktower1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050222190110/http://lostindustry.org.uk/walktower1.htm |archive-date=2005-02-22 |title=Lost Industry of Southwark}}
* {{cite web |url=http://lostindustry.org.uk/walktower1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050222190110/http://lostindustry.org.uk/walktower1.htm |archive-date=2005-02-22 |title=Lost Industry of Southwark}}

Latest revision as of 16:19, 15 September 2025

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English

File:Tower subway map.gif
Location of the Tower Subway (1895)

The Tower Subway is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in central London, between Tower Hill on the north bank of the river and Vine Lane (off Tooley Street) on the south. In 1869 a Script error: No such module "convert". circular tunnel was dug through the London clay using a cast iron circular shield independently invented and built by James Henry Greathead, similar to an idea that had been patented in 1864 by Peter W. Barlow but never built.[1]

A Template:RailGauge narrow-gauge railway was laid in the tunnel and from August 1870, a cable-hauled wooden carriage conveyed passengers from one end to the other. This was not a financial success, however, and the company went bankrupt by the end of the year. The tunnel was converted to pedestrian use and one million people a year crossed under the river, paying a toll of a ha'penny. The opening of the toll-free Tower Bridge nearby in 1894 caused a drop in income and the tunnel closed in 1898, after being sold to the London Hydraulic Power Company. Today the tunnel is used for water mains and telecommunications cables.

The same shield method of construction was used in 1890 to dig the tunnels of the City and South London Railway, the first of London's electrified "Tube" railways and the first underground electrified railway in the world.[2]

History

Construction

Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". In 1864, Peter Barlow applied for a patent design of a circular cast iron shield for tunnelling to fill the gap between the tunnel lining and wall with lime or cement to prevent settling of the surrounding ground.[3] Unfortunately, Barlow failed to explain how he intended to fill such gaps between shield and tunnel wall with grout and he never constructed it before his death. Greathead, however, invented a device to inject the grout and was accredited with the first shield construction for what is now known as the Tower Gateway complex in 1869.[4]

Barlow published a pamphlet in 1867, "On the Relief of London Street Traffic", suggesting a network of tunnels with cars carrying up to twelve people.[5][6] In 1868, authority was obtained in the <templatestyles src="Template:Visible anchor/styles.css" />Tower Subway Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. viii) for a tunnel under the Thames between Great Tower Hill and Pickle Herring Stairs near Vine Street (now Vine Lane),[7][3][8] but there was a delay finding a contractor after experiences with the Thames Tunnel until his former pupil James Henry Greathead tendered for £9,400.[3]

According to William Charles Copperthwaite, who once studied and worked under Greathead,[4] both Greathead in England, and Alfred Ely Beach in New York, invented and constructed their own versions of tunnelling shields simultaneously and independently of each other.[4] Beach used a circular shield remarkably similar to Peter W. Barlow's patent application design. This would not have been an unexpected event as Beach oversaw a successful patent agency[9] in New York as the editor of The Scientific American, and may well have heard of Tower Subway developments in London and found Barlow's patent application.

Work on the Tower Subway began in February 1869 with the boring of entrance shafts,[10] Script error: No such module "convert". deep on the north bank and Script error: No such module "convert". deep on the south bank. The tunnelling itself started in April using the circular Greathead shield.

Whilst many argue that the shield used was a "Barlow–Greathead" shield, William Copperthwaite says "... in 1868 [Barlow] provisionally patented a shield having near the cutting edge a transverse partition or diaphragm. Neither of these designs took practical form, and in 1869 Greathead in England and Beach in New York actually built and used shields having many features in common with Barlow's patents but differing from each other in details... Beach's shield resembled Barlow's patent of 1864, and Greathead's the provisional patent of 1868."[1] Copperthwaite puts to bed all arguments over origins of tunnelling shields as being the patented but unimplemented idea of Barlow's in 1864 but the actual construction of a different patented device by Greathead was built and first used on the Tower Subway and simultaneously in New York, Beach created and made his own shield independently of Barlow's and Greathead's designs.[1] Barlow lost out on credit because he never actually constructed one, only patenting the idea.[1] Copperthwaite also reveals that Greathead was unaware of the 1868 provisional patent of Barlow's until 1895, a fact discussed in an 1895 Institution of Civil Engineers paper on the City and South London Railway acknowledged by Barlow.[1]

A tunnel Script error: No such module "convert". long was dug with a diameter of Script error: No such module "convert".,[3] a maximum of Script error: No such module "convert". below the high-water level.[6] This was bored through a stable layer of the London clay that lay Script error: No such module "convert". below the river bed, below the soft alluvial deposits that had plagued the construction by Brunel of the earlier Thames Tunnel. This, combined with the simpler nature of the project – the excavation face was only one twentieth that of the Thames Tunnel – enabled faster progress.[11] Screw jacks drove the shield forward at a rate of Script error: No such module "convert". each week.[12] The under-river section was dug in fourteen weeks and the tunnel completed in December 1869.[11]

Cable railway

File:Tower subway carriage.jpg
Interior of the Tower Subway cable car, 1870

The entrance shafts were fitted with steam-powered lifts for passengers. The tunnel was laid with Template:RailGauge gauge railway track and a single car, carrying a maximum of 12 passengers, cable-hauled by two Script error: No such module "convert". stationary steam engines, one on each side of the river.

The tunnel was completed by February 1870, and a press launch was held the following April.[10][13] The underground railway opened for public use on 2 August 1870[3][6] charging 2d for first class and 1d for second class, first class ticket holders merely having priority for the lifts and when boarding.[14] However, the system was unreliable and uneconomic. The company went into receivership in November 1870, and the railway closed on 7 December 1870, four months after opening.[3][10][15]

Foot tunnel

File:Tower Subway 1870.jpg
The Tower Subway in 1870

The railcar and steam engines were removed, gaslights installed and the passenger lifts replaced with spiral staircases. The tunnel opened to pedestrians on 24 December 1870[10] at a toll of <templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" />1⁄2d[14] and became a popular way to cross the river, averaging 20,000 people a week (one million a year).[11] Its main users were described as "the working classes who were formerly entirely dependent on the ferries".[16] In September 1888 the subway briefly achieved notoriety after a man with a knife was seen in the tunnel at the time when Jack the Ripper was committing murders in nearby Whitechapel.[17]

In his Dictionary of London, Charles Dickens Jr commented on the smallness of the tunnel: "there is not much head-room left, and it is not advisable for any but the very briefest of Her Majesty's lieges to attempt the passage in high-heeled boots, or with a hat to which he attaches any particular value."[18]

The Italian writer Edmondo De Amicis (1846–1908) gave a description of a passage through the subway in his Jottings about London:

Template:Quote

File:Tower subway 1.jpg
Tower Subway northern entrance building at Tower Hill. (January 2006). Built by the LHPC in 1926, the lettering on the visible side reads "Template:Sc".
File:Tower subway southern entrance.jpg
Locked entrance to the Tower Subway on the South Bank

Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". In 1894 the toll-free Tower Bridge opened a few hundred yards downriver, causing a drop in the subway's income. The Tower Bridge Subway Company sued the Corporation of London for £30,000 for loss of revenue. Engineer Edward Cruttwell was a key witness in the arbitration arguing that the claim was unfounded with the subway being in a "very neglected condition."[19]

In 1897, Parliament passed a local act, the <templatestyles src="Template:Visible anchor/styles.css" />Tower Subway Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c.xcvii) authorising the sale of the tunnel to the London Hydraulic Power Company (LHPC) for £3,000 (worth over £Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation-yearTemplate:Inflation-fn), and the subway closed to pedestrian traffic in 1898.[16]

Utility tunnel

After its closure, the tunnel gained a new purpose as a route for hydraulic power mains operated by the LHPC and for water mains. It was damaged during the Second World War when a German bomb fell in the river near Tower Pier in December 1940, and exploded on the river bed very close to the tunnel's roof. The shock of the blast compressed the tunnel radially, reducing its diameter to Script error: No such module "convert". at the point of impact, but the tunnel's lining was not penetrated. During the course of repair work, it was found that – apart from the bomb damage – the tunnel had survived seventy years of use in excellent condition.[11]

The subway today

While it is no longer used for hydraulic tubes, the tunnel still carries water mains.[20] The hydraulic tubes, once a major source of power in the centre of London, have since been replaced by fibre optic telecommunications links.[21]

A small round entrance building survives at Tower Hill near the Tower of London's ticket office, a short distance to the west of the main entrance to the Tower.[22]Script error: No such module "Unsubst". This is not the original entrance but was built in 1926 by the London Hydraulic Power Company, with a ring of lettering giving the original date of construction and naming the LHPC.[23] The entrance on the south bank of the Thames was demolished in the 1990s, and a new one has been built in its place.[20][10] It is located just behind the Unicorn Theatre on Tooley Street, but there is no plaque to mark the site.[24]

A video inside the tunnel from the current owners, Vodafone, was released in February 2023.[25][26]

See also

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ 31 & 32 Vict c.viii
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Patricia Cornwell, Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper – Case Closed, p. 198. Berkeley Books, 2003. Template:ISBN
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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