There had been numerous proposals for a tunnel under the channel throughout the 19th Century including one by Napoleon, which was not constructed due to war breaking out (again) between England and France.
This was how they thought it might look in 1802
The first serious attempt to build a tunnel came with an
Act of Parliament in 1875 authorising the Channel Tunnel Company Ltd. to start preliminary trials.
Welsh miners started digging in 1880 at Folkstone... but yet again the British were afraid of being invaded by the French and work was finally discontinued in 1898.
The present day tunnel was constructed between 1988 and opened in 1994. It's the longest undersea tunnel in the world. The section under the sea is 38km long. The three tunnels, each 50km long, were bored at an average 40m below the sea bed, and link Folkestone in
This cartoon could have been about my mother. She was 100% anti-France and was terribly afraid of rabies reaching Britain !!
She should have been more worried about the threat of invasion... from killer CHIPMUNKS ......
The alert came amid fears the buck-toothed critters - which have wreaked terror in France - could make it through the Channel Tunnel.
Map . . . how rodents got from native Siberia to France
Tens of thousands were said to be marching on Calais and Dunkirk - as northern France battles a 100,000-strong plague. Tourists are warned not to be fooled by the cuddly image of these characters. Wildlife experts brand them VERMIN. The chipmunks carry ticks harbouring potentially fatal Lyme disease, and their bite can spread rabies.
However we seem to still be safe..... Rabies free countries 2010 (in green) :
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