Letter by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel to Benjamin Hawes regarding the Thames Tunnel, 9 October 1837
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Object number2014.03067
TitleLetter by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel to Benjamin Hawes regarding the Thames Tunnel, 9 October 1837
Creator Marc Isambard Brunel (author)
DescriptionLetter by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel to his son-in-law Benjamin Hawes, dated 9 October 1837. Concerns the construction of the Thames Tunnel and refers to the tunnelling shield.
He discusses a 'Modeller', and 'a charge for the past services of one.' He seems to suggest that the 'deficiency of mechanical power in some of [his] assistants' means that he would have benefited from having more models for them to refer to (of the standing frames, to go with ones already made of 'the floor models and Top [staves?] models'), in order to have avoided errors. Instead, however, they have been 'diverging from the exact directions' required and this is apparently an issue since 'With a Shield so powerful as the present is, there is no yielding property in the Framing, as there was in the former shield'; he says that '1/8 of an inch in the 5 length of the floors may soon throw off the adjustments'. He emphasises that the models, drawings, and a 'Set of [artificers?]' have been vital to working with 'Machinery that is so complicated as the Shield is', especially when so many people are involved.
He concludes that it is 4 o'clock in the morning and he must go to bed; a man called Walker will be in town the following day, and Marc Brunel knows he has papers from the Treasury.
Signed 'M.I. Brunel'. One sheet of paper folded. Addressed to 'Bn Hawes Esq M.P. Mortlake' on reverse with postmarks and part of a red seal.
Transcript available.
Production date 1837-10-09 - 1837-10-09
Object nameletter
Object categorycorrespondence
Techniquehand-written
Dimensions
- height: 196 mm
width: 250 mm
width: 125 mm
Credit line“Accepted under the Cultural Gifts Scheme by HM Government from Clive Richards OBE DL and allocated to the ss Great Britain Trust, 2017”