page_title: Henry Maudslay
section_title: Thames Tunnel
hierarchical_section_title: Henry Maudslay / Career / Henry Maudslay and Company / Thames Tunnel
context_page_description: Henry Maudslay was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were an important foundation for the Industrial Revolution.
  Maudslay's invention of a metal lathe to cut metal, circa 1800, enabled the manufacture of standard screw thread sizes. Standard screw thread sizes allowed interchangeable parts and the development of mass production.
context_section_description: In 1825 Marc Isambard Brunel began work on the Thames Tunnel, intended to link Rotherhithe with Wapping. After many difficulties this first tunnel under the Thames was successfully completed in 1842. The tunnel would not have been possible without the innovative tunneling shield designed by Marc Brunel and built by Maudslay Sons & Field at their Lambeth works. Maudslay also supplied the steam-driven pumps that were so important for keeping the tunnel workings dry.
caption: Interior of the Thames Tunnel, mid-19th century
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