Greenwich foot tunnel for Weekender

 

 

Continuing our trek along the riverside we come to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel which, under its glass dome, is one of the most prominent features at Cutty Sark Gardens and riverside. Apparently some tourists think it is the Royal Observatory or a public convenience. Happily there is now an information board to tell us not only what it is but also how unusual. 

Crossing the Thames at Greenwich has become a hot topic in recent years – we all know about the proposed Silvertown Tunnel – with talk of tolls. Up to the mid-19th century most upriver bridges were tolled; and east of the Tower there were only ferries. There was a great deal of discussion about this in Parliament and elsewhere.  Eventually the tolls on the bridges were bought out by the City of London and it was decided to build a number of crossings east of the Tower - and, most importantly, they would be free.

Quite soon after Tower Bridge opened in 1894.  Other crossings, without access to the City’s Bridge Housemoney pots, had to wait.  Another complication was the setting up of the new London County Council to replace the Metropolitan Board of Works.  They opened the Woolwich Free Ferry and built the Blackwall Tunnel – more about them later, when I get to them. They also built the Rotherhithe Tunnel, outside of our area.

Will Crooks, later MP for Woolwich, had been Chair of the LCC Bridges Committee and through him two foot tunnels– Greenwich and Woolwich - were planned.  As far as we are aware there are only three or four other sub-river pedestrian tunnels – all in Britain except one in Holland.Today thetunnels are classed as public highways and are thus permanently open day and night.

The Greenwich tunnel was the earlier of the two.  It was designed by Sir Alexander Binnie, the contractors were J. Cochrane and Sons and work began in 1899. Itopened in 1902. Construction began with the sinking of a shaft on the north bank of the River in Island Gardens and advanced under the River toemerge in Greenwich by what was then the Ship Inn.

The tunnel is made up of a series of 32mm iron plates which are bolted together, lined with concrete and then faced with 200,000 white glazed ceramic tiles. The tunnel dips towards the centre of the river partly to allow for dredging the river above. Care was taken with the health of workersemployedwith Medical Officers monitoring their health and progress.

The tunnel is accessed by shaftswith a lift, fitted in 1904, and a spiral staircase. There is a brick entrance rotunda below a glass dome. Over the doorway at the Greenwich end is a bronze plaque which commemorates the completion of the work.During the Second World War the Greenwich tunnel was bombed and a narrowed section near the north end remains lined with metal plates and an explanatory plaque has been put up recently. There is also shrapnel damage left unrepaired in the brickwork of the south rotunda.

GreenwichCcouncilmanages the tunnels on behalf of the, Tower Hamlets and Newham.

Hundreds of people daily use the tunnels to cross the River. A survey of 2007 found daily use at Greenwich to be about 2000 on weekdays, and 3000 at weekends and 2000 for weekdays. Pedestrians have been joined by many cyclists and for them these two tunnels are the major crossing points downRiver of Tower Bridge with the only choice being the Free Ferry, and, to a very limited extent, the Rotherhithe tunnel.  Cyclists made up about 30% at Greenwich and these figures are rising.  At Greenwich in the morning rush there is double the number of cyclists than pedestrians northbound –and the speeds undertaken by some riders have proved a safety concern.

In 2008 it was decided that the tunnels should be refurbished and work began.  There were a number of problems and a report into them also commented that while work on the tunnel was a small job for the construction industry it was nevertheless unique and complex in a way that had not really been appreciated by contractors. 

Eventually in 2013 a group of local people and activists from Greenwich Cyclists decided to set up FOGWOFT– Friends of Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels. They were however keen to work with Greenwich Council and to help overcome difficulties and once works were finished that there should be an effort to get more public awareness of the tunnels and their heritage.

The clear wired glass on the Greenwich tunnels’ domes had the dirt of decades on them and people assumed the murky look was traditional.  English Heritage agreed that the new laminated glass would have a feint white smoke tint to reproduce that unwashed look!  There was also the question as whether the tunnel should be newly tiled or if the old, sometimes damaged, tiles should remain. There was a clear majority of opinion that the traditional tiles should remain although they are never going to return to their original bright white state. All sub-river tunnels leak and stains due to this can be seen on the white tiles.  The leaking water is drained to a sump along the whole tunnel and is pumped out at each end.

The original lifts had been replaced in 1992 and the original mahogany interiors reinstalled. They had always been attended at both ends. New state-of-the-art lifts are now in place, complete with the mahogany interiors.But it turned out that the sun on the listed glass domes caused temperatures to rise and the electronic lift controls to cut out.Permanentcool boxes and air conditioning had to be been installed which has greatly improved lift performance.

As the tunnels have returned to normal use there are still challenges to be met.  The by-laws rule that there shall be no cycling in the tunnel. This restriction does not appear to have been in place at first but dates from during the Great War along with a veto on the dropping of orange peel.Orange peel no longer seems to be a problem, but the ban on cycling is ignored by many cyclists.  Tower Hamlets local papers ran stories of aggressive cyclists from south London frightening walkers. The bylaws were rewritten and sent out to Newham and Tower Hamlets Councils for consultation. So far they have still not beenfinalised.

The tunnels are used by people from all sections of the community and safety must be paramount.  There have recently been complaints from pedestrians about skaters – sometimes in groups – rivalling some cyclists in speed and arrogance.   While work was ongoing the tunnel was shut on some nights in order to remove hazardous waste and it was then discovered it was used by a group of runners who found themselves marooned on the Isle of Dogs having left their property in Greenwich.  There is now a worry about the increased use of scooters.

Both tunnels continue to do the job they were built for a century ago, and do it efficiently and for free. Modernising them however, while maintaining their traditional features, has been more problematic than anyone thought – and provided some valuable lessons.This makes an important point about the tunnels – they seem so simple – and yet they were major engineering works of their day, and should be appreciated as such. ‘they represent a magnificent feat of Edwardian engineering – impressive ambition of the project  - the character is consistent and defined by the finest engineering techniques of the day  - the design throughout ... and fabric is coherent, logical and simple and the materials used are robust and designed to last’.

The ideology of the 1890s and the great legacy of the London County Council have left us these two tunnels, still performing their original functions and still free for everyone, as they were intended to be.  We must learn to be proud of them.

Sources.

An article on the history of the Greenwich Tunnel by Myles Dove appeared in the September 2002 edition of the Greenwich Industrial History Newsletter.

Article in Engineer 4th April 1902.

Institution of Civil Engineers 1901-1902.Minutes of proceedings.The Greenwich Footway Tunnel by William Charles Copperthwaite.M.Inst.C.E.

London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels. Feasibility Study for refurbishment

FOGWOFT’s web site http://fogwoft.com/events/ Email fogwoft3@gmail.com

And thanks to Ian Blore for reading this and  correcting mymistakes

Dr. Mary Mills (incidentally Chair of FOGWOFT)