2-699-393 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Diving-Bell Used in the Construction of the Thames Tunnel', (c1878). Diving bell being used to plug a hole in the bottom of the River Thames. The Thames Tunnel, from Rotherhithe to Wapping in London, was the most remarkable undertaking by the engineer and inventor Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849). His son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) was site engineer on the project. Construction began in 1825, but was not completed until 1843, partly due to the workings being totally flooded in 1828, causing the project to be abandoned for several years. From Old and New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, And Its Places. The Southern Suburbs, Volume VI, by Edward Walford. [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., London, Paris & New York, c1878]