26 October: Woolwich Foot Tunnel

On this date in 1912, the Woolwich Foot Tunnel under the Thames was opened by Lord Cheylesmore, Chairman of the LCC. 10 facts about the Woolwich foot tunnel.

1. The tunnel was designed by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, who was also responsible for Vauxhall Bridge, the Rotherhithe Tunnel and the Aswan Dam.

2. It was built by Walter Scott & Middleton for London County Council, for the benefit of Woolwich workers.

3. The tunnel is 504 metres (1,654 ft) long and at its deepest, the tunnel roof is about 3 metres (9.8 ft) beneath the river. The tunnel is roughly 9 feet in diameter.

4. It crosses from Old Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich to North Woolwich in the London Borough of Newham.

5. Both entrances to the tunnel are Grade II listed buildings.

6. The south entrance has 94 steps. The north entrance has 126 steps. Only the south entrance has a Lift. The north lift has been out of service for years due to difficulties procuring spare parts. A group called Fogwoft (Friends of Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels) tried campaigning to get the lift fixed, but eventually gave up.

7. In 1915, a soldier returning to Woolwich barracks fired his gun into the floor of the tunnel just for the fun of it. A policeman who happened to be passing arrested him and he was fined 20 shillings. It might have been worse if not for his previous good character.

8. As well as shooting at the floor, things expressly forbidden in the tunnel are photography (although there are plenty of photos illustrating the various articles I referred to while researching this) though sadly none without restrictions, hence the map of Woolwich above and not a pic of the actual tunnel; cycling; driving animals, be they “cattle, or any animal forming part of a menagerie, or wild animal"; busking; animal fouling; skating; spitting; or loitering.

9. A 2016 survey showed around 1,000 people use the tunnel per day. That said, most of the people who wrote about their experience of walking through said it was eerily deserted and not for the faint hearted.

10. One author quoted it as the 536th best thing to do in London according to Tripadvisor although I followed the link to the Tripadvisor page, and it would appear that it has since fallen to #645 at time of writing.