We're reinventing the Brunel Museum!

Hi, I’m Katherine McAlpine, the Director of the Brunel Museum.
This upcoming September, The Brunel Museum will close to begin work on our Brunel Museum Reinvented project, thanks to a grant of £1.85mn from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
This project will make vital improvements to our international heritage site associated with Marc Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The Brunel family were at the heart of Victorian innovation. The Brunel Museum sits on the site of Marc Brunel’s ground-breaking Thames Tunnel.
Running from Rotherhithe to Wapping, it was the first ever tunnel dug underneath a river, pioneering innovation that is still used today.
The Museum will be closed from late September 2024 with plans to reopen in summer 2025 - in time for the 200th anniversary of in time to celebrate 200 years since work began on the site.
The reinvented project will conserve the two historic buildings, the Grade II* listed Tunnel Shaft, and the Engine House.
A new Visitor Welcome Pavilion will transform visitor experience, with accessible facilities, and shop, enabling more people to visit and learn about this incredible story of adaptability, ingenuity and perseverance.
Our collection of Thames Tunnel watercolours, including those hand drawn by Marc Brunel himself, will be on display for the first time.
Before we close for this transformational project, we’ll be celebrating with a series of events over the summer. For families, our Tunnellers Club has already started as well as our Wild Things gardening club - Plus we’re celebrating National Play Day on 7 August.
For those who want to delve a bit deeper, we have four Guided Tour weekends where visitors can get an expert tour of the Museum site with our passionate and expert volunteer guides. Plus we’re open every Friday, Sunday and Monday outside of those times.
Finally, everyone’s invited to our Closing Party on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September
We are excited to get started on our reinvented project and can’t wait for the everything to come together for everyone to see.