Opening Ceremony It was built to provide a more reliable connection between North and South Woolwich, as the bad winter fogs often stopped the Woolwich Free Ferry from operating. It also provided a route for services, including a 20” water main with risers coming up through a number of shafts. The tunnel owed much to the efforts of Will Crooks MP (1852-1921), hero of the 1889 docks strike and later Chairman of the LCC's Bridges Committee.

The tunnel was commissioned by the LCC It was designed and built by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice (1861-1924) chief engineer to LCC who also designed the Rotherhithe Tunnel (1908) and Vauxhall Bridge (1906). An earlier tunnel was begun under the Thames here in 1876 by J.H. Gratehead (1844-1896) but was not completed.

The lifts had manually operated gates. The gates and the lift mechanism were replaced in the early 1990s but the original wood panelled lift cage is still in place. The lifts can carry 40 passengers

The tunnel was dug by hand and is 1655 feet long and is10 feet below the river bed. The people of North Woolwich refer to the tunnel as ‘the pipe’. It is often used a filming location for TV dramas and adverts.
Photo: © Copyright Nigel Cox and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence at www.geograph.org.uk

The tunnel was opened by the London County Council in 26 October 1912. It cost £87,000. The tunnel provided a pedestrian link under the River Thames between North Woolwich and Woolwich

The Woolwich Free Ferry opened in 1889. The pier was demolished after the new ferry terminal was opened in 1966. The tunnel was designed as an alternative river crossing and opened in 1912.

The rotunda covers the north shaft of the foot tunnel. There are two entrances, this one is to the spiral staircase which has 126 steps, the other, to the lift is on the opposite side of the building