With a pedigree stretching back to 1868, Halcrow has a rich history of exciting projects through the decades, which have demanded many and multiple skills from us, all over the world.
When the company moved to its new corporate headquarters in London in 2010, a number of treasures were unearthed in the dusty basement of its old home at Vineyard House.
These included a treasure trove of 16mm films made in the 50s, 60s and 70s showing some engrossing glimpses of contemporary Halcrow projects. Most of the films are in good condition and some have now been digitised – ready for everyone to enjoy.
See the making of the London Underground Victoria line in the 60s, with the first of a five-part series produced by British Transport Films on behalf of London Transport. The episode describes the route of the new line, the planning stage and the problems that had to be overcome by the project team.
The company has played a major role in the development of the Gulf states. This is demonstrated in three films showing the construction of three major port projects in the 1970s, Port Rashid and Jebel Ali Port in Dubai and the Port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Halcrow was also the consulting engineer on the construction of a new type of lighthouse on the Royal Sovereign Shoal near Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Back in 1972, a compelling professionally-made film documented the design and construction.
There is a wonderful narrated documentary about the initial site investigation for the Channel Tunnel produced in 1964 and lastly there's a technical film by the National Film Board of South Africa that uses the Orange Fish Tunnel as an example of how to build a tunnel using concrete.
You can watch these fascinating glimpses of our engineering past by clicking the links in the right hand menu of this page.