Embankment

EMBANKMENT

The Victoria Embankment was constructed after a centuries old problem had been avoided to the point where it could be ignored no longer. The river Thames, as it passed through London, had always been used as an open sewer. As the population of London grew, the problem escalated and during the exceptionally hot summer of 1858, the smell became so overpowering that it permeated to the four compass points of London and duly became known as, ‘The Great Stink.’ Sheets soaked in chlorine and lime were hung on the Houses Of Parliament windows whilst inside the politicians of the day were forced to debate a solution, which resulted, in part, with the construction of The Victoria Embankment.

The idea of an embankment was not a new one, it was touted after the Great Fire Of London in 1666, but the plans were not adopted. At low water, even as late as the Victorian period, large muddy reaches were exposed and were considered a ‘hotbed of pestilence and fever.’ The new embankment narrowed the river, with thirty acres of land being reclaimed from the low tide flats. Coupled with dredging, the flow of the water increased in speed, making for a cleaner river. The river had to be dammed during construction, which was no mean feat, to allow the positioning of 650,000 cubic feet of granite, 80,000 cubic yards of brickwork and 140,000 cubic yards of concrete.

The project clearly allowed for no half measures and many vast and expensive riverside properties were destroyed when building began in 1865. Sir Joseph Bazalgette masterminded the engineering feat and it won much applause when it was completed five years later. However, the most important factor was the incorporation of Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s many miles of sewers with Gothic vaulting more reminiscent of the undercroft of a cathedral. Above the sewers the track for the District Line Underground (Tube) trains were positioned and at surface level a new highway was laid, easing traffic congestion from Strand and Fleet Street.

Behind the busy lanes of traffic on the embankment are The Victoria Embankment Gardens, which were opened in 1872. The government wanted the valuable land for development, but Sir Joseph Bazalgette insisted it be laid out for public enjoyment. To this day free concerts take place there, not far from the fine statues of Robert Burns and William Tyndale, who was the first to write an English bible translated from the Greek. In the gardens is ‘The Water Gate’ by Inigo Jones, the only relic of York House, which was destroyed to build the embankment. The Victoria Embankment is lined with fine London Plane trees, which were planted at intervals of twenty feet. Some were vandalised and rewards of twenty pounds, a huge sum for the day, were offered for information leading to convictions of any person caught damaging them. Nowadays, the trees reach high above the splendid original lampposts, all with stylized dolphins at their bases.

Several ships of importance are permanently moored on the riverside and have become fixtures of the landscape. H.M.S. President was built in 1918 and designed to look like a merchant vessel, the intention being to draw German U boats, which would then be attacked using hidden weapons. At one time all land based officers of the Royal navy were enlisted to H.M.S President, as all those serving in the Royal Navy had to be ascribed a ship. In the early twenty-first century, the vessel is hired out for private parties and functions.

A short way upstream from H.M.S. President is H.Q.S. Wellington, built in 1935 and purchased by The Honourable Company Of Master Mariners in 1947 and it is the city’s only floating livery hall. During the Second World War, she was on ‘ocean convoy escort duty’ in the north Atlantic. King Edward the Eighth was the first master of the company and his portrait hangs on board, the only picture of him to have been painted whilst he was king.

Further upstream along the embankment are moored several ships turned into bars and restaurants. The Queen Mary is the only London pub to have spent forty years crossing the Clyde, where it served as a ferry. If you find yourself swaying after only your drink, it probably means you are aboard the Hispaniola by Hungerford Bridge, which vies for business with the neighbouring PS Tattershall Castle, an old coal burning paddle steamer that once carried passengers across the Humber river, that is now also a pub and restaurant.

Old Scotland Yard, The Ministry Of Defence, Charing Cross Railway Station, The Savoy Hotel, Somerset House and The Middle and Inner Temple all overlook the Victoria Embankment and amidst them is ShellMex House. This distinctive early thirties Art Deco construction is distinctive for having the largest clock face in London, visible high up behind the oldest monument in London, Cleopatra’s Needle.

Cleopatra’s Needle was given to the British in 1819 by an Albanian who ruled Egypt on behalf of the Turks. A prominent freemason paid the £10,000 it cost to transport the needle to London the year before it was erected. The sea voyage was difficult, it was towed across the sea in a huge iron cylinder. It was cut loose during a violent storm and was found floating aimlessly like the Marie Celeste, by chance, by another English ship. Six sailors died during transportation to London and it was finally positioned on the Victoria Embankment in 1878.

The obelisk is erroneously named, as Cleopatra never saw it. A staggering 3,500 years old, it came all the way from Heliopolis at Memphis in Egypt. The sphinxes positioned at its base should be pointing outwards not inwards as they are supposed to be guarding it, not admiring it. Stone was blasted away from the plinths and the bronze paws of a sphinx were punctured when a shell narrowly missed the needle during The First World War. Beneath the needle is a Victorian time capsule, which includes a Victorian railway timetable and photographs of those considered to be the most beautiful twelve ladies of the time. The needle has suffered more weathering on the windswept embankment than in the previous three thousand years. There are suggestions it should be moved to the protected atmosphere of British Museum, which would allow the hidden time capsule an untimely opening.

The Victoria Embankment may be accessed by Westminster, Embankment and Temple London Underground (Tube) stations. River cruises offer terrific views of the embankment and can be taken from the Westminster Pier by Westminster Bridge on the Victoria Embankment.

 Where to view Embankment and video clips of London

London in motion has some of the best London Stock Footage and London Library Footage with moving clips of many of the above mentioned places to see, are available to browse through by simply visiting the ‘Embankment’ category of this website.  New additions of London video clips are being frequently uploaded and further categories will be appearing over the coming months.