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Marc Brunel was a 19^th-century engineer and entrepreneur with exceptional vision. In 1825, he persuaded Queen Victoria of England to fund an exciting and audacious new project in London. Brunel wanted to build the world’s first underwater tunnel. He designed the tunnel to transport cargo from one side of the congested river Thames to the other. He aimed for the underwater tunnel to be "the eighth wonder of the world"

Unfortunately, 14 years later, the project was in deep trouble. Brunel realised that the tunnel was turning out to be a white elephant. Tragically, the tunnel flooded five times during construction, killing many workers. The project was also hugely over-budget and was only halfway to being completed. Under strain with worry over the project, Brunel suffered a stroke and increasingly poor health.

But Brunel was not a man to give up easily. Suddenly, he had a brainwave which transformed the doomed project into an overnight success. Brunel decided to turn the tunnel into the world’s first underground shopping arcade. The idea immediately captured the public's imagination. Over 50,000 people turned out to watch the spectacle when the Thames Tunnel opened in 1843.

Queen Victoria officially opened the Thames Tunnel. Jugglers and musicians entertained the crowd at the entrance to the tunnel. Stalls sold food, drinks and specially designed souvenirs. The highlight of the event was for visitors to go down into the tunnel to walk under the River Thames with the river flowing over their heads and not getting wet! Several visitors lost courage and turned back. But the majority of the crowd entered bravely, and happily promenaded through the arcade. The press heralded the tunnel as another stunning British engineering success. One million people, over half the population of London at the time, visited the tunnel after it opened. People came from Europe and America to visit the world's latest and greatest engineering feat.