The Thames Embankment was built as part of the London Main Drainage (1859-1875) by the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

, a pioneering Victorian civil engineering project which housed intercept sewers, roads and underground railways and embanked the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. It consisted of the Victoria Embankment and

Chelsea Embankment Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. The western end of Chelsea Embankment, including a stretch of Cheyne Walk, is in the Royal Borough of ...

on the north side and the

Albert Embankment Albert Embankment is part of the river bank on the south side of the River Thames in Central London. It stretches approximately one mile (1.6 km) northward from Vauxhall Bridge to Westminster Bridge, and is located in the London Borough ...

on the south. Designed by the Chief Engineer

Joseph Bazalgette Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (; 28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was an English civil engineering, civil engineer. As Chief Engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of the London Main Drainage, t ...

, it modernised London's infrastructure, improving public health, mobility, and the image of the British capital.

History

There had been a long history of failed proposals to embank the Thames in central London. Embankments along the Thames were first proposed by

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

in the 1660s, then in 1824 former soldier and aide to

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, Sir Frederick Trench suggested an embankment known as 'Trench's Terrace' from Blackfriars to

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

. Trench brought a bill to Parliament which was blocked by river interests. In the 1830s, the painter John Martin promoted a version, as realised later, to contain an intercepting sewer. In January 1842 the City Corporation backed a plan designed by James Walker but which was dropped due to government infighting. The government itself built the

in 1854 from Chelsea Hospital to Millbank. Started in 1862, the Victoria Embankment starting from Millbank on the main, north ( or "left" bank) was primarily designed by Sir

with architectural work on the embankment wall and river stairs by Charles Henry Driver. It incorporates the main low level interceptor sewer from the then limits of west London's growth, and an underground railway over which a wide road and riverside walkway were built and run today, shored up by the sturdy retaining wall along the tidal

(the Tideway). Five main interceptor tunnels with a total length of 131km drained over 3,200km of smaller collector sewers. Four large steam-powered pumping stations were incorporated, strategically placed to elevate the sewage so it would continue to flow eastwards under gravity. In total, Bazalgette's scheme reclaimed of land from the river. Embankment Construction of the Thames Embankment ILN 1865

Embankment Construction of the Thames Embankment ILN 1865

Much of the

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

used in the projects was brought from Lamorna Cove in Cornwall. The quarried stone was shaped into blocks on site before being loaded on to barges and transported up the English Channel into the Thames. From Battersea Bridge in the west, it includes Cheyne Walk,

, Grosvenor Road,

Millbank Millbank is an area of central London in the City of Westminster. Millbank is located by the River Thames, east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. Millbank is known as the location of major government offices, Burberry headquarters, the Mill ...

and Victoria Tower Gardens. Beyond the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

, it is named Victoria Embankment as it stretches to Blackfriars Bridge; this stretch incorporates part of the shared

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

/ Circle Line bi-directional tunnel of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

and passes Shell Mex House and the Savoy Hotel. It likewise incorporates gardens and open space, here at their greatest, and collectively known as the ''Embankment Gardens'', which provide a peaceful oasis in the heart of

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. The gardens include many statues, including a memorial with a bust of Bazalgette. The smaller and shorter

is on the south side of the river, opposite the Millbank section of the Thames Embankment. It was created by Bazalgette for the Metropolitan Board of Works and built by William Webster between July 1866 and November 1869. Some parts of the Embankment were rebuilt in the 20th century due to wartime bomb damage or

natural disaster A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...

s such as the 1928 Thames flood. The Thames and Albert embankments are but a fraction of the 200 miles of walls that prevent the Thames from flooding adjoining lands, and which were begun in the Middle Ages.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 51.49652, N, 0.12455, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title, format=dms Streets in the City of Westminster Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea London water infrastructure Infrastructure in London Waterfronts Embankment Victoria Embankment

History

See also

References

External links