Victoria Embankment

Last updated

The Westminster end of Victoria Embankment and PS Tattershall Castle, pictured in 2009 Victoria Embankment, London - geograph.org.uk - 1598692.jpg
The Westminster end of Victoria Embankment and PS Tattershall Castle, pictured in 2009

Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfare for road traffic between the City of Westminster and the City of London.

Contents

It is noted for several memorials, such as the Battle of Britain Monument, permanently berthed retired vessels, such as HMS President, and public gardens, including Victoria Embankment Gardens.

History

Earlier embankments

The Victoria Embankment was preceded by many earlier works along the tidal Thames, including central London.

Construction

Victoria Embankment under construction in 1865. Embankment Construction of the Thames Embankment ILN 1865.jpg
Victoria Embankment under construction in 1865.
Electric light provided by Yablochkov candles in December 1878. Jablochkoff Candles on the Victoria Embankment, December 1878.jpg
Electric light provided by Yablochkov candles in December 1878.

The Victoria Embankment was designed by civil engineer Francis Webb Sheilds, who submitted designs to a Royal Commission [1] appointed in 1861. Following acceptance of the designs, construction was carried out by the Metropolitan Board of Works on the lines of his scheme. [2] [3] Construction, which started in 1865, was completed in 1870 under the direction of Joseph Bazalgette.

The Victoria Embankment was one element of a three-part work, the other two parts being the Albert Embankment, from the Lambeth end of Westminster Bridge to Vauxhall; and the Chelsea Embankment, extending from Millbank to the Cadogan Pier at Chelsea, close by Battersea Bridge. [4] It was a project of the Metropolitan Board of Works. The contractor for the work was Thomas Brassey. [5] The original impetus was the need to provide London with a modern sewerage system. Another major consideration was the relief of congestion on the Strand and Fleet Street.

The project involved building out on to the foreshore of the River Thames, narrowing the river. The construction work required the purchase and demolition of much expensive riverside property. The cut-and-cover tunnel for the District Railway was built within the Embankment and roofed over to take the roadway. The embankment was faced with granite, and penstocks, designed to open at ebb tide to release diluted sewage when rainstorms flooded the system, were built into it as a means of preventing backups in the drainage system and of periodically flushing the mud banks. [6]

At ground level, in addition to the new roads, two public gardens were laid out. One of these backs onto the government buildings of Whitehall, and the other stretches from Hungerford Bridge to Waterloo Bridge. The gardens contain many statues, including a monument to Bazalgette. The section of the gardens between Waterloo Bridge and Charing Cross station also includes a large bandstand, where musical performances are given, and the 1626 watergate of the former York House built for the first Duke of Buckingham.

The Victoria section was the most complex of the three sections. It was much larger, more complex and more significant to the metropolis than the other two and officially opened on 13 July 1870 by the Prince of Wales and Princess Louise. [7] When people refer to "the Embankment" they are usually referring to that portion of it. The total cost of the construction of the Victoria Embankment is estimated to be £1,260,000 and the purchase of property at £450,000. The total cost includes the cost of materials used in the construction of the embankment. [6]

Issues in construction

Construction of the Victoria Embankment proved to be difficult because of the grandness of it. Parliament was assured that three years would be ample time to complete the project, which did not hold true.

In addition to not having a large enough labour force to complete the work on schedule, the project's architect and property appraiser were challenged in successfully securing rights to all the wharves and other property that were required for access and storage during the project's construction. They also ran into difficulty in acquiring contracts to maintain access to the steamboat landings at Westminster and Hungerford.

In addition, extra time and money were spent experimenting with a new type of cofferdam, a structure used to keep water out of the construction site, which was crucial for building along the tidal Thames. [6]

Electrification

In December 1878 Victoria Embankment became the first street in Britain to be permanently lit by electricity. [8] The light was provided by 20 Yablochkov candles powered by a Gramme DC generator. 16 March 1879 the system was extended to 40 lamps and 10 October to 55 lamps. [9] Previously the street had been lit by gas, and in June 1884, gas lighting was re-established as electricity was not competitive. [9]

Route

The Victoria Embankment (part of the A3211 road) starts at Westminster Bridge, just north of the Palace of Westminster, then follows the course of the north bank, past Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge, before ending at Blackfriars Bridge in the City. Shell Mex House, the Savoy Hotel and Savoy Place are located between the Embankment and the Strand.

Transport

Section through Victoria Embankment at Charing Cross showing sub-surface railway Installation of the sewerage system of the Metropolis Wellcome M0010346 (cropped).jpg
Section through Victoria Embankment at Charing Cross showing sub-surface railway

London Underground stations along Victoria Embankment are Embankment and Temple. London Buses route N550 is the only bus route along the Embankment, providing an overnight service when the tube is shut. Victoria Embankment was also the southern end of the Kingsway Tramway Subway. It was also used by trams as a loop right up until the end of the original tramway system in London in 1952. [10]

London River Services boat services operate from Westminster Millennium Pier, Embankment Pier and Blackfriars Millennium Pier at points along Victoria Embankment. Pleasure cruises operate from Savoy Pier.

London's east–west Cycle Superhighway 3, a kerb-protected cycle track across London, runs along most of the Victoria Embankment: it opened in 2016.

Developing as the imperial city

The embankments were designed as a contribution to "the appropriate, and appropriately civilized, cityscape for a prosperous commercial society." John Thwaites, the chair of the Metropolitan Board of Works, made note that the embankments were an important step in making London recognised as an exemplary imperial city, and that the embankments were the greatest public work to be taken in London. This imperial power was represented in the embankments' grandeur and could be seen in the way they controlled nature, linking the local experience of nature in London to the global rivalries of imperial powers. On the river side, new steamboat piers and landing stairs were designed for river access. Above ground were tree lined roadway and pedestrian walkways, surfaced with York paving stone and decorative gaslight posts for the top of the wall. [6]

Notable sites

Ships permanently moored by Victoria Embankment include HMS President, HQS Wellington, and PS Tattershall Castle.

Other notable attractions include the General Charles Gordon Memorial, Royal Air Force Memorial, National Submarine War Memorial, Battle of Britain Monument, Cleopatra's Needle and the modernistic Cleopatra's Kiosk.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackfriars Bridge</span> Bridge over the River Thames in London

Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Church, along with Blackfriars station. The south end is in the London Borough of Southwark, near the Tate Modern art gallery and the Oxo Tower. Opened in the 1860s, it replaced an earlier bridge from the 1760s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Bank</span> Commercial and entertainment district in London

The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, England on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark,. As such, the South Bank may be regarded as somewhat akin to the riverside part of an area known previously as Lambeth Marsh and North Lambeth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embankment tube station</span> London Underground station

Embankment is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster, known by various names during its history. It is served by the Circle, District, Northern and Bakerloo lines. On the Bakerloo line and the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line, the station is between Waterloo and Charing Cross stations; on the Circle and District lines, it is between Westminster and Temple and is in Travelcard Zone 1. The station has two entrances, one on Victoria Embankment and the other on Villiers Street. The station is adjacent to Victoria Embankment Gardens and is close to Charing Cross station, Embankment Pier, Hungerford Bridge, Cleopatra's Needle, the Royal Air Force Memorial, the Savoy Chapel and Savoy Hotel and the Playhouse and New Players Theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Bazalgette</span> English civil engineer (1819–1891)

Sir Joseph William Bazalgette CB was a British civil engineer. As Chief Engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of a sewerage system for central London which was instrumental in relieving the city of cholera epidemics, while beginning to clean the River Thames. He later designed Hammersmith Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterloo Bridge</span> Bridge in London, England

Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Thanks to its location at a strategic bend in the river, the bridge offers good views of Westminster, the South Bank and the London Eye to the west, and of the City of London and Canary Wharf to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges</span> Bridges in London

The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd it is a steel truss railway bridge flanked by two more recent, cable-stayed, pedestrian bridges that share the railway bridge's foundation piers, and which are named the Golden Jubilee Bridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Embankment</span> Reclaimed area next to the River Thames in central London

The Thames Embankment is a work of 19th-century civil engineering that reclaimed marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria Embankment and Chelsea Embankment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower Millennium Pier</span>

Tower Pier is a pier on the River Thames, in Tower Hill, London, England. It is operated by Uber Boat by Thames Clippers and served by various river transport and cruise operators. The pier is close to Tower Bridge and is situated immediately adjacent to the southwest corner of the Tower of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Tower Gardens</span> Public park in London, England

Victoria Tower Gardens is a public park along the north bank of the River Thames in London, adjacent to the Victoria Tower, at the south-western corner of the Palace of Westminster. The park, extends southwards from the Palace to Lambeth Bridge, between Millbank and the river. It forms part of the Thames Embankment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tideway</span> Part of the River Thames subject to tides

The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A3036 road</span> Road in southwest London

The A3036 is an A road in London, England, running from Waterloo to Wandsworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embankment Pier</span> Pier on the River Thames near Embankment

Embankment Pier is a pier on the River Thames in City of Westminster, London. It is located on the north bank of the river, immediately next to the Hungerford Bridge and directly outside the river entrance to Embankment Underground station. It is also conveniently close to Charing Cross railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Eye Pier</span>

The London Eye (Waterloo) Pier is directly in front of the London Eye ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in Central London, England. It was opened as the Waterloo Millennium Pier in 2000.

Thomas Page was a British architect and civil engineer who was responsible for the design and construction of many bridges, including Westminster Bridge and the first Chelsea Bridge

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Embankment Gardens</span> Park in London, England

The Victoria Embankment Gardens are a series of gardens on the north side of the River Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Bridge in London.

<i>South Bank Lion</i> Sculpture in London

The South Bank Lion is an 1837 sculpture in Central London. Since 1966 it has stood next to County Hall, on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is a significant depiction of a lion, along with the four that surround Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square just across the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolphin lamp standard</span>

Dolphin lamp standards provide electric light along much of the Thames Embankment in London, United Kingdom. Two stylised dolphins or sturgeons writhe around the base of a standard lamp post, supporting a fluted column bearing electric lights in an opaque white globe, topped by a metal crown. Many of the lamps are mounted on granite plinths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bazalgette Memorial</span> Sculpture by George Blackall Simonds

The Sir Joseph Bazalgette Memorial is a memorial to the Victorian engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, by George Blackall Simonds. It is located on the Victoria Embankment, a few feet up river from the Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges, opposite the junction with Northumberland Avenue.

References

  1. ↑ "98. Thames Embankment 1861-31". British History Online. Institute of Historical Research. 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  2. ↑ Burke, Bernard (2020). "A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland (volume 2) online". Online library eBooksRead.com. Burke's Peerage Enterprises Limited. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "1907 Institution of Civil Engineers: Obituaries, Francis Webb Wentworth-Sheilds". Grace's guide to British industrial history. Grace's Guide Ltd. 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  4. ↑ Thornbury, Walter. "The Victoria Embankment". British History Online. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Walker, Charles (1969). Thomas Brassey, Railway Builder. London: Frederick Muller. p. 151. ISBN   0-584-10305-0.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Porter, Dale (1998). The Thames Embankment: Environment, Technology, and Society in Victorian London. Akron, OH: U of Akron. ISBN   1-884836-29-1.
  7. ↑ Baker, Margaret (2002). Discovering London Statues and Monuments. Osprey Publishing. p. 125. ISBN   9780747804956.
  8. ↑ "History of Electricity". Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  9. 1 2 Electricity Supply in the UK: A chronology (PDF). Electricity Council. 1987. pp. 11–12.
  10. ↑ Marshall, Prince (1972). Wheels of London. The Sunday Times Magazine. p. 50. ISBN   0-7230-0068-9.Retrieved 15 October 2013.

51°30′26″N0°07′18″W / 51.50722°N 0.12167°W / 51.50722; -0.12167

Further reading

Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1938). "London's Riverside Highways". Wonders of World Engineering. London: Amalgamated Press. pp. 677–682. Describes the construction of the Victoria and Albert Embankments

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.