- Title:
- Medal commemorating Sir Marc Isambart Brunel and the opening of the Thames tunnel, circa 1843.
- Object name(s):
- Metal; Medal, England
- Brief description:
- Silver coloured metal medal. On the obverse central to the design is a relief left facing bust of Sir Marc Isamabart Brunel (1769-1849) (see notes below). Encircling this is relief text reading 'SIR ISAMBART MARC / BRUNEL, F. R. S. & C.'. On the reverse central to the design is a relief depiction of the Thames tunnel, being two tunnels with arched entrances with a keystone at the centre and surmounted by an entablature. Inside the tunnels are a few figures, one of which is on horseback. Beneath this is relief text reading 'THAMES TUNNEL 1200 FT LNG / COMMENCED 1824 / OPENED MARCH 25 / 1843'.
- Collection:
- Museum of Freemasonry
- Acquisition method:
- Donation
- Associated concept:
- Medals England
- Associated concept:
- Architecture England London Thames Tunnel
- Associated person:
- Taylor, William Joseph 1802-1885 Medallist
- Associated person:
- Brunel, Marc Isambard, 1769-1849, Dedicatee
- Comments:
- Sir Marc Isamabart Brunel (1769-1849) was a French engineer. He emigrated to New York during the French Revolution where he built various constructions prior to coming to England in 1799 for a project in Portsmouth. He then came to London to begin ambitious works on a Thames tunnel in 1825 which would connect Rotherhithe and Wapping. This was completed in 1842 and opened the following year.
- Comments:
- The maker's mark ' J. TAYLOR MEDALLIST BIRM.' belongs to the medallist William Joseph Taylor (1802-1885). He was born In Birmingham and became an established medallist and medal dealer producing medals, coins, and tokens. Taylor has been associated with the Soho Mint after acquiring several of their dies in 1848, which he consequently re-struck. He had a large export business to places as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
- Comments:
- As most items are manufactured in the same year they are presented, date of manufacture for this medal is taken to be the same as its presentation date. Please note this manufacture date is speculative as occasionally items are manufactured before or even after the date of presentation.
- Comments:
- The cataloguing of the medal collection at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry was supported by a grant from Arts Council England in 2013.
- Content - description:
- Sir Marc Isambart Brunel, Thames tunnel, Arch, Keystone, Entablature, Figures, Horse
- Dimension:
- H: n/a W: n/a D: 3 Dia: 47 Wt: n/a
- Entry date:
- n/k
- Inscription content:
- ' J. TAYLOR MEDALLIST BIRM.'
- Object name:
- Metal; Medal, England
- Object number:
- M2013/1072
- Object production date:
- 1843 (circa)
- Object production place:
- England
- Reproduction format:
- Digital image
- Technique:
- Struck metal
Persistent shareable link for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/b51fe510-16f6-30bf-bf94-a6edc95d5fc6
Use licence for this record: CC BY
Attribution for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/b51fe510-16f6-30bf-bf94-a6edc95d5fc6, Museum of Freemasonry, CC BY
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