The Park Tunnel was built in 1855 to allow horse-drawn carriages access to The Park Estate from Derby Road in Nottingham.
The tunnel which links Derby Road to the aptly named Tunnel Road is one of the Park’s most unusual and distinctive features. Its origins may go back to proposals made by the architect Peter Frederick Robinson for the area’s development in 1827.
Work on the tunnel was completed in May 1855, under the supervision of the architect Thomas Chambers Hine (1813-1899). Hine had been appointed as the duke’s surveyor, with particular responsibility for the development of the Park as a residential estate in 1854.
His influence on the Park is still evident on all sides – he designed the general layout of the roads and many individual houses. His approval of all other house plans ensured a high degree of control over building standards and maintained a consistency of architectural vision.
The tunnel never fulfilled its expectations as a main thoroughfare into the Park. Development of other roads on the periphery of the Newcastle estate provided several more convenient routes, and the necessity for a tunnel had vanished almost before its completion.
Fun Fact: The Duke of Newcastle’s original requirement was for a tunnel with a maximum gradient of 1 in 14; the tunnel actually has a gradient of 1 in 12. Considered too great for horsedrawn carriages, this defeated the object of its construction.
The tunnel is still in use, providing pedestrian access from Derby Road, Upper College Street and The Ropewalk to the Park, but remains a hidden gem in the city centre.
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/exhibitions/online/park/tchine.aspx
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