Tunnels: Regents Canal

Maida Hill tunnel (272 yards)

This tunnel is at the west end of the Regents canal and is very close to Little Venice where the Grand Union Paddington arm reaches its terminus at Paddington basin. The restaurant above the portal is always busy, especially in the summer.

The tunnel was opened in 1812 and is brick lined.  There is no towpath and it is one way and can get very busy with queues of boats, especially as there are lots of trip boats for tourists.

North east portal

North east portal

South west portal

South west portal

South west portal

Islington tunnel (960 yards)

The tunnel was opened in 1820 and both the portals are Grade II listed buildings. The entry at the English Heritage website [visit link] tells us:

"Tunnel entrance or portal. 1819-20 by James Morgan, engineer to the Regent's Canal Company. Brown and yellow brick set in English bond with stone dressings. Round-arched opening with banded rustication giving the effect of voussoirs flanked by a pair of Doric pilasters; brick panel to the parapet; flanking walls with simple piers at either end."

The Canal Museum website [visit link] includes some interesting photos and tells us:

"All London's canal tunnels are on the Regent's Canal. Are there two, or three canal tunnels? Only two are generally recognised today, Islington Tunnel (960 yards, or 886 metres) and Maida Hill Tunnel (272 yards or 251 metres). In fact a third very short tunnel exists, Eyre's tunnel, (53 yards or 48 metres) under Lisson Grove. Today this is usually incorrectly assumed to be a bridge. Maida Hill and Eyre's tunnels were opened in 1816 and are near to the junction with the Grand Junction Canal's Paddington Arm which is now known as Little Venice. Islington Tunnel was opened in 1820 along with the completion of the canal, a procession of boats passing through with a band playing, to be met by a salute of cannon fire as they emerged at the eastern end.

Islington Tunnel is the major engineering work of the Regent's Canal. The engineer who built it was the Regent's Canal's engineer, James Morgan. The early print illustrated to the left shows the west portal, probably in the very early days of the tunnel before the introduction of a steam tug. It also interestingly illustrates the type of open horse drawn boat in use at that time, confirmed by other contemporary illustrations. The photograph to the right shows the same portal in 1998, at sunset. It is just possible to see the light at the other end!

The Company initially launched a competition for the design of the tunnel. The advertisement was placed in August, 1812, but elucidated little response. A committee of three eminent engineers, Nicholson, Walker, and Jessop, were to be judges. They received only wild ideas and the prize of 100 guineas was awarded to a copy of a Jessop design, which was evidently not considered suitable. The competition having been something of a fiasco, James Morgan was ordered to get on with it and so he did. There were delays in starting work as a result of the usual difficulty - landowners! Work must have started in 1814 for in January 1815 four of the six shafts had been constructed and 140 yards of tunnel built.

By March 250 yards had been built and all four shafts were linked at tunnel level. Tunnels were built by the process of sinking shafts at intervals to the required depth, and then lowering men and equipment down to dig, and, it was hoped, meet. Accurate survey work was essential in order to locate the shafts in the correct place and dig them to the correct depth. That the tunnel is more or less straight indicates that this was done well, although difficulties meant that headings, small pilot bores, had to be constructed between shafts initially to ensure it. Things did not progress quite so well later in the project however, and Morgan found the earth through which he was digging to be a lot less stable than had been anticipated. A vein of stone caused ingress of water.

Mindful as he doubtless was of the collapse of a road tunnel at Highgate in north London, Morgan used substantial temporary support structures and used stronger brickwork and in places additional brick lining to add strength. Springs were encountered in the digging of the shafts which made extra work necessary. The tunnel cost nearly £40,000 to build, a great deal more than had been anticipated. This was hardly unusual, and indeed even today major civil engineering projects frequently end up costing much more than expected! The tunnel was completed at the end of 1818 although not opened for business straight away.

The tunnel was at first operated by "legging", whereby men lying on their backs on planks aboard the boat walked the vessel through against the side walls. This was slow, hard, and caused a great deal of delay. In 1826 a steam chain tug was introduced, one of the earliest uses of steam power on the canals. The chain was secured at each end of the tunnel and the tug pulled itself and a train of barges by winding the chain around a barrel on board. This means of haulage survived over 100 years until the 1930s when boats with engines became commonplace.

During the winter period at the start of 2000, Islington Tunnel was closed for extensive repairs. In June 1818 Thomas Telford inspected the tunnel and is quoted as describing it as "Perfect, the materials and workmanship excellent, and its direction perfectly straight". It has lasted 183 years, so far!"

Lisson Grove tunnel (53 yards)

The Lisson Grove tunnel on the Regent's Canal is the shortest tunnel on the canal.  It is lined in brick and stone and was opened in 1820.

For more information please read the entry for Islington tunnel above.