Maida Hill Tunnel
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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Maida Vale, St John's Wood London |
| Coordinates | 51°31′30.57″N 0°10′32.74″W / 51.5251583°N 0.1757611°WCoordinates: 51°31′30.57″N 0°10′32.74″W / 51.5251583°N 0.1757611°W |
| OS grid reference | TQ267823 |
| Status | Open |
| Waterway | Regent's Canal |
| Start | 51°31′28.29″N 0°10′37.38″W / 51.5245250°N 0.1770500°W |
| End | 51°31′33.13″N 0°10′27.25″W / 51.5258694°N 0.1742361°W |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Canal and River Trust |
| Technical | |
| Length | 272 yards (249 m) |
| Towpath | No |
Maida Hill Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Regent's Canal in London, England. The two other tunnels on the Regent's Canal are Islington Tunnel and Eyre's tunnel.
The Regent's Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in July 1812. The plans had been drawn up by James Morgan, working as an assistant to the architect John Nash. With some influence from Nash, Morgan secured the post of Engineer, Architect and Land Surveyor for the new company, and oversaw the construction of the canal. However, he had little experience of civil engineering, and so the company advertised for designs for the locks and tunnels. The tunnelling work was awarded to the contractor Daniel Pritchard, who was also responsible for the much longer Grand Union Canal tunnels at Husbands Bosworth and Crick, and went on to become a specialist tunnelling contractor.
The original plans for the canal did not include a tunnel at Maida Hill, but objections to the planned route resulted in one becoming necessary, and subsequent objections to the alignment of the tunnel by a Mr Portman resulted in the short Eyre's Tunnel also needing to be constructed. Work began in 1812, but was hindered when a spring was encountered. Damage caused by the incoming water resulted in casualties among the workmen, and subsequent delays. However, both of the tunnels were completed by 1816, enabling part of the canal to be opened in that year, as far as Camden. Spoil from the excavations was used to level land to the north of the canal, which became the third site of Lord's Cricket Ground. The canal had cut through part of the outfield of the second site.
The tunnel was built without a towpath, and boats were legged through it. In 1825, three men were working a boat through the tunnel when the boards on which they were lying slipped. One man was seriously injured, a second was crushed to death by the barge, and the body of the third was never found. The tunnel is regularly used by trip boats, with the first motor boat, Jasons Trip, starting operation in 1951. In 1953, Evelyn, operated by Lord St Davids, also worked through the tunnel. It was towed by a horse to the east of the tunnel, by a tractor to the west, and human powered through the tunnel. In the 1970s, Westminster City Council decided to build a cafe at the west end of the tunnel. Despite strong local opposition, a concrete and steel raft was constructed over the western portal, and the Cafe Laville was built on it.
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