The Primrose Hill Tunnel was the first railway tunnel in London, and was a sightseeing attraction in itself as well as a functioning railway. It was built so that the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway could run a line through land in Hampstead that belonged to the Eton College Estate, who objected to potential building land being used for track. The elaborate entrance to the tunnel, completed in 1838, was insisted upon by the school to keep up the tone of the area. It also served to reassure passengers going through it that the tunnel was structurally sound.