Barge Tunnel, River Thames at Seething Wells


 Barge Tunnel
The barge tunnel has almost no protection as it is not attached to a listed building and was not considered worthy of spot listing during the English Heritage Inspection (although it was never visited due to lack of access).  The barge tunnel can only be entered cautiously by boat as there are a number of submerged hazards of the puncturing kind. At one time it was possible to alight the several steps from a boat and enter the site. A crane hoist still exists with the tunnel recesses and evidence of the iron plates which formed the crane base see Fig 5. For a detailed discussion on the transferring of materials from the Barge Tunnel to the Coal Stores refer to the work of Ron Howes (possibly Hampton Waterworks and its Railway System, by Ron Howes and Ann Grant (from Kew Bridge Steam Museum).

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