Islington Tunnel opened in 1818 and was built by the engineer
James Morgan. The Regent's Canal was authorised by an
act of Parliament, the
Regent's Canal Act 1812 (
52 Geo. 3. c. cxcv) on 13 July 1812, and a month later James Morgan, who had previously produced plans and sections to support the application, was appointed as Engineer, Architect and Land Surveyor for the scheme. At the time, Morgan had little civil engineering experience, and the company decided to hold a competition for the design of the locks and tunnels, with the entries to be assessed by
William Jessop and two other engineers. Although entries hoping to win the 50-
guinea (£52.50) were submitted, none were accepted, and in December Morgan became responsible for the whole project. The company was persistently short of money, as it had only succeeded in raising £254,100 of the estimated cost of £400,000, and as work progressed, it became obvious that more would be needed. The first section from
Paddington Basin to
Camden was opened on 12 August 1816, and some work had been done on the tunnel, but work stopped, as there was no more money. Another act of Parliament, the
Regent's Canal Act 1816 (
56 Geo. 3. c. lxxxv), increased the authorised capital to £600,000, but the company had no success in raising any more. However, a chance meeting between the former chairman, Charles Munro, and the committee for the Society for the Relieving of the Manufacturing Poor resulted in discussions about government loans funding the project and providing employment for the poor. The
Exchequer Bill Loan Commission was set up under the powers of the
Public Works Loans Act 1817 (
57 Geo. 3. c. 34), with commissioners given powers to award loans to public projects which would provide employment for those without work. The engineer
Thomas Telford surveyed the unfinished canal and tunnel on behalf of the Commissioners, and an initial loan of £200,000 was promised, providing that the canal company could raise £100,000 in match funding. This they succeeded in doing, and work resumed in December 1817. The canal opened in its entirety on 1 August 1820. The tunnelling contract was given to Daniel Pritchard, who had previous experience building tunnels for the
Grand Union Canal at Husbands Bosworth and Crick. The first was built between 1811 and 1813, and was long, while the second was built between 1812 and 1814, and was long. They had been completed despite encountering difficult geology along their routes. With the completion of the Islington Tunnel and the nearby Maida Hill Tunnel, he went on to be a specialist tunnelling contractor, completing the Strood Tunnel on the
Thames and Medway Canal and the second
Harecastle Tunnel on the
Trent and Mersey Canal. Lacking
towpath, barges originally had to be
legged through the tunnel. In 1826 it was upgraded with a steam tug pulling a guiding chain above the centre of the bed which would propel the barges; which remained until the 1930s, when it was replaced with a diesel engine, now defunct due to boats' motor propulsion. ==Route==