Editing Thames Embankment

{{Short description|Reclaimed area next to the River Thames in central London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
[[File:Thames embankment, London, England-LCCN2002696941.jpg|thumb|1890s postcard of the Thames Embankment]]

The '''Thames Embankment''' was built as part of the London Main Drainage (1859-1875) by the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]], a pioneering Victorian civil engineering project which housed intercept sewers, roads and underground railways and embanked the [[River Thames]]. It consisted of the [[Victoria Embankment]] and [[Chelsea Embankment]].on the north side and the [[Albert Embankment]] on the south. Designed by the Chief Engineer [[Joseph Bazalgette]], it modernised London's infrastructure, improving public health, mobility, and the image of the British capital.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Porter |first=Dale H. |title=The Thames Embankment |publisher=The University of Akron Press |year=1998 |isbn=9781884836299}}</ref>

==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]] in the 1660s, then in 1824 former soldier and aide to [[George IV of the United Kingdom|George IV]], Sir [[Frederick Trench (British Army officer)|Frederick Trench]] suggested an embankment<ref>{{cite book|author=Sholto Percy|title=Mechanics' Magazine and Journal of Science, Arts, and Manufactures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5NpQAAAAYAAJ|year=1841|publisher=Knight and Lacey|page=242}}</ref> known as 'Trench's Terrace' from [[Blackfriars, London|Blackfriars]] to [[Charing Cross]]. Trench brought a bill to Parliament which was blocked by river interests.

In the 1830s, the painter [[John Martin (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 (engineer)|James Walker]] but which was dropped due to government infighting. The government itself built the [[Chelsea Embankment]] in 1854 from Chelsea Hospital to Millbank.

[[File:A plan of the Thames Embankment, from Blackfriars Bridge to Wellcome V0024379.jpg|thumb|A plan of the Thames Embankment]]
Started in 1862, the Victoria Embankment starting from Millbank on the main, north ([[bank (geography)|or "left" bank]]) was primarily designed by Sir [[Joseph Bazalgette]] with architectural work on the embankment wall and river stairs by [[Charles Henry Driver]]. It incorporates the main low level interceptor [[London sewerage system|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 [[River Thames]] (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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Douet |first=James |date=2021 |title=The Steam Pumping Stations of the London Main Drainage, 1858–75 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03090728.2021.1973226 |journal=Industrial Archaeology Review |issue=43(2) |pages=135-146}}</ref> In total, Bazalgette's scheme reclaimed {{convert|22|acre|km2}} of land from the river.

[[File:Embankment Construction of the Thames Embankment ILN 1865.jpg|thumb|The Victoria Embankment under construction in 1865. Hungerford Bridge can be seen in the background.]]
Much of the [[granite]] used in the projects was brought from [[Lamorna|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]], [[Chelsea Embankment]], Grosvenor Road, [[Millbank]] and [[Victoria Tower Gardens]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol9/pp62-91#h2-0004 |title=98. Thames Embankment 1861-31 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2020 |website=British History Online |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |access-date=18 September 2020 }}</ref>

Beyond the [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]], it is named [[Victoria Embankment]] as it stretches to [[Blackfriars Bridge]]; this stretch incorporates part of the shared [[District line|District]]/[[Circle line (London Underground)|Circle Line]] bi-directional tunnel of the [[London Underground]] 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]].  The gardens include many statues, including a memorial with a [[Bazalgette Memorial|bust of Bazalgette]].

The smaller and shorter [[Albert Embankment]] 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 (builder)|William Webster]] between July 1866 and November 1869.

Some parts of the Embankment were rebuilt in the 20th century due to [[London Blitz|wartime bomb damage]] or [[natural disaster]]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.
{{main|Embanking of the tidal Thames}}

== See also ==
* [[Esplanade|Esplanade/promenade]] 
* [[London sewerage system]]
**[[Combined sewer]]s
**[[Thames Tideway Scheme]]
* [[District line (London Underground)]]
* Former [[subterranean rivers of London]]
*[[W. T. Stead|W.T. Stead]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite book|title=Letter from Sir Frederick Trench to the Viscount Duncannon on his proposal for a quay on the north bank of the Thames|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oNBbAAAAQAAJ|year=1841|last1=Trench|first1=Frederick William}}

{{Metropolitan Board of Works}}
{{Coord|51.49652|N|0.12455|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title|format=dms}}

[[Category:Streets in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
[[Category:London water infrastructure]]
[[Category:Infrastructure in London]]
[[Category:Waterfronts]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on the River Thames|Embankment]]
[[Category:Victoria Embankment]]