The original Blackwall Tunnel opened on 22 May 1897, linking Blackwall on the north bank of the Thames with Greenwich on the south.

Its purpose was practical. The Thames was central to London’s trade, but it also made road journeys awkward. Ferries, bridges and longer routes could only do so much for a city whose eastern districts were carrying more goods, workers and traffic. Blackwall and Greenwich were part of London’s working areas, shaped by docks, river trade, workshops and industry. A road tunnel provided a more direct crossing for that part of the city.

The project also showed the scale of late Victorian engineering. At the time of its opening, the Blackwall Tunnel was described as the longest underwater tunnel in the world. That claim gave it public weight, but the tunnel’s value lay in use rather than show. It was built to carry everyday movement under a river that had long divided north from south.

The tunnel did not make the Thames less important. It made it less obstructive. For carts, workers, goods and later motor traffic, the river could now be crossed without breaking the journey so sharply. The Blackwall Tunnel was a major engineering project with a clear purpose: it helped London function.