Victoria Embankment
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.
It is noted for several memorials, such as the
History
Earlier embankments
The Victoria Embankment was preceded by many earlier works along the tidal Thames, including central London.
Construction
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
The project involved building out on to the foreshore of the
At ground level, in addition to the new roads, two
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
Transport
London's east–west
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
See also
- Albert Embankment
- Dragon boundary mark
- List of eponymous roads in London
- List of public art on the Victoria Embankment
- Thames Embankment
References
- ^ "98. Thames Embankment 1861-31". British History Online. Institute of Historical Research. 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Thornbury, Walter. "The Victoria Embankment". British History Online. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- ISBN 0-584-10305-0.
- ^ ISBN 1-884836-29-1.
- ISBN 9780747804956.
- ^ "History of Electricity". Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ a b Electricity Supply in the UK: A chronology (PDF). Electricity Council. 1987. pp. 11–12.
- ISBN 0-7230-0068-9.Retrieved 15 October 2013.
51°30′26″N 0°07′18″W / 51.50722°N 0.12167°W
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
External links
- Media related to Victoria Embankment at Wikimedia Commons