vlcLorla embankmenL

!oseph under Lhe dlrecLlon of 1870 lL was compleLed ln 1863 1he vlcLorla LmbankmenLs consLrucLlon sLarLed ln
1
8rassey 1homas 1he conLracLor for Lhe work was MeLropollLan 8oard of Works and was a pro[ecL of Lhe 8azalgeLLe
AnoLher ma[or conslderaLlon sewerage sysLem 1he orlglnal lmpeLus was Lhe need Lo provlde London wlLh a modern
lleeL SLreeL and 1he SLrand was Lhe rellef of congesLlon on
narrowlng Lhe rlver 1he consLrucLlon work 1hames 1he pro[ecL lnvolved bulldlng ouL on Lo Lhe foreshore of Lhe
Lunnel for Lhe cuL and cover requlred Lhe purchase and demollLlon of much expenslve rlverslde properLy 1he
was bullL wlLhln Lhe LmbankmenL and roofed over Lo Lake Lhe roadway AL ground level ln MeLropollLan ulsLrlcL 8allway
were lald ouL Cne of Lhese backs onLo Lhe governmenL handsome publlc gardens addlLlon Lo Lhe new roads Lwo
1he gardens conLaln many WaLerloo 8rldge Lo Pungerford 8rldge and Lhe oLher sLreLches from WhlLehall bulldlngs of
Cross Charlng and WaLerloo 8rldge 1he secLlon of Lhe gardens beLween 8azalgeLLe sLaLues lncludlng a monumenL Lo
of Lhe waLergaLe 1626 where muslcal performances are glven and Lhe bandsLand also lncludes a large rallway sLaLlon
uuke of 8ucklngham bullL for Lhe ?ork Pouse former
1he vlcLorla LmbankmenL under
consLrucLlon ln 1863
SecLlon Lhrough vlcLorla LmbankmenL aL
Charlng Cross showlng subsurface rallway
Ioseph 8aza|gette
W of Lhe clvll englneer Lngllsh ) was an 1891 March 13 1819 March 28 ( C8 8aza|gette S|r Ioseph W||||am
hls ma[or achlevemenL was Lhe MeLropollLan 8oard of Works Londons of englneer Lh cenLury As chlef 19
whlch was sewer neLwork for cenLral London ) of a 1838 of 1be Cteot 5tlok creaLlon (ln response Lo
8lver epldemlcs whlle beglnnlng Lhe cleanslng of Lhe cholera lnsLrumenLal ln rellevlng Lhe clLy from
1hames
Whlle he was recoverlng Londons shorLllved MeLropollLan Commlsslon of Sewers ordered LhaL all cessplLs should
be closed and LhaL house dralns should connecL Lo sewers and empLy lnLo Lhe 1hames As a resulL a cholera
epldemlc (184849) Lhen kllled 14137 Londoners
8azalgeLLe was appolnLed asslsLanL surveyor Lo Lhe Commlsslon ln 1849 Laklng over as Lnglneer ln 1832 afLer hls
predecessor dled of harasslng faLlgues and anxleLles Soon afLer anoLher cholera epldemlc sLruck ln 1833 kllllng
10738 Medlcal oplnlon aL Lhe Llme held LhaL cholera was caused by foul alr a socalled mlosmo ur !ohn Snow had
earller advanced a dlfferenL explanaLlon whlch ls now known Lo be correcL cholera was spread by conLamlnaLed
waLer Pls vlew was noL generally accepLed
Champloned by fellow englneer lsambard klngdom 8runel 8azalgeLLe was appolnLed chlef englneer of Lhe
Commlsslons successor Lhe MeLropollLan 8oard of Works ln 1836 (a posL he reLalned unLll Lhe M8W was abollshed
and replaced by Lhe London CounLy Councll ln 1889) ln 1838 Lhe year of Lhe CreaL SLlnk arllamenL passed an
enabllng acL ln splLe of Lhe colossal expense of Lhe pro[ecL and 8azalgeLLes proposals Lo revoluLlonlse Londons
sewerage sysLem began Lo be lmplemenLed 1he expecLaLlon was LhaL enclosed sewers would ellmlnaLe Lhe sLlnk
(mlasma) and LhaL Lhls would Lhen reduce Lhe lncldence of cholera
AL Lhe Llme Lhe 1hames was llLLle more Lhan an open sewer devold of any flsh or oLher wlldllfe and an obvlous healLh
hazard Lo Londoners 8azalgeLLes soluLlon (slmllar Lo a proposal made by palnLer !ohn MarLln 23 years earller) was Lo
consLrucL 1100 mlles (1800 km) of underground brlck maln sewers Lo lnLercepL sewage ouLflows and 1100 mlles
(1800 km) of sLreeL sewers Lo lnLercepL Lhe raw sewage whlch up unLll Lhen flowed freely Lhrough Lhe sLreeLs and
Lhoroughfares of London 1he ouLflows were dlverLed downsLream where Lhey were dumped unLreaLed lnLo Lhe 1hames
LxLenslve sewage LreaLmenL faclllLles were bullL only decades laLer
1he scheme lnvolved ma[or pumplng sLaLlons aL uepLford (1864) and aL Crossness (1863) on Lhe LrlLh marshes boLh on Lhe
souLh slde of Lhe 1hames and aL Abbey Mllls (ln Lhe 8lver Lea valley 1868) and on Lhe Chelsea LmbankmenL (close Lo
Crosvenor 8rldge 1873) norLh of Lhe rlver
1he sysLem was opened by Ldward rlnce of Wales ln 1863 alLhough Lhe whole pro[ecL was noL acLually compleLed for
anoLher Len years
8azalgeLLes foreslghL may be seen ln Lhe dlameLer of Lhe sewers When plannlng Lhe neLwork he Look Lhe densesL
populaLlon gave every person Lhe mosL generous allowance of sewage producLlon and came up wlLh a dlameLer of plpe
needed Pe Lhen sald Well were only golng Lo do Lhls once and Lheres always Lhe unforeseen and doubled Lhe dlameLer
Lo be used Lvery Londoner should be graLeful for Lhls foreslghL as Lhe Lhen unforeseen was Lhe Lower block lf he had used
hls orlglnal smaller plpe dlameLer Lhe sewer would have overflowed ln Lhe 1960s As lL ls Lhey are sLlll ln use Lo Lhls day
1he unlnLended consequence of Lhe new sewer sysLem was Lo ellmlnaLe cholera noL only ln places LhaL no longer sLank buL
wherever waLer supplles ceased Lo be conLamlnaLed by sewage 1he baslc premlse of Lhls expenslve pro[ecL was wrong as
so ofLen happens buL Lhe end resulL was much beLLer Lhan expecLed whlch ls a rare occurrence (1he 8lver 1hames now
conLalns several smaller varleLles of flsh lncludlng LrouL lL ls also safe Lo swlm lnfor Lhose wllllng Lo brave Lhe frlgld
waLers and able Lo flnd a sLreLch wlLhouL underLow)
8azalgeLLes capaclLy for hard work was remarkable every connecLlon Lo Lhe sewerage sysLem by Lhe varlous vesLry
Counclls had Lo be checked and 8azalgeLLe dld Lhls hlmself and Lhe records conLaln Lhousands of llnen Lraclngs wlLh
handwrlLLen commenLs ln lndlan lnk on Lhem Approved !W8 l do noL llke 6 used here and 9 should be used !W8 and
so on lL ls perhaps noL surprlslng LhaL hls healLh suffered as a resulL 1he records are held by 1hames WaLer ln large blue
blnders goldblocked readlng MeLropollLan 8oard of Works and Lhen daLed usually Lwo per year
A ma[or problem was sewage mosL of Londons wasLe was allowed Lo flow lnLo Lhe
1hames resulLlng ln a horrendous smell ln Lhe summer monLhs ln 1833 and 1838 Lhere
were especlally bad summers wlLh Lhe laLLer belng known as 1he CreaL SLlnk A noLable
achlevemenL of Lhe 8oard was Lhe creaLlon of Lhe core London sewerage sysLem
lncludlng 73 mlles (120 km) of maln and 1000 mlles (1630 km) of sLreeL sewers whlch
solved Lhe problem A large parL of Lhe work of Lhe M8W was under Lhe charge of Lhe
Chlef Lnglneer !oseph 8azalgeLLe prevlously englneer wlLh Lhe MeLropollLan
Commlsslon of Sewers
SLarLed ln 1862 Lhe presenL embankmenL on Lhe norLhern slde of Lhe rlver was prlmarlly
deslgned by Slr !oseph 8azalgeLLe lL lncorporaLes Lhe maln low level lnLercepLor sewer
from wesL London and an underground rallway over whlch a wlde road and rlverslde
walkway were also consLrucLed as well as a reLalnlng wall along Lhe norLh slde of Lhe
8lver 1hames ln LoLal 8azalgeLLes scheme reclalmed 22 acres (89000 m
2
) of land from
Lhe rlver
lrom 8aLLersea 8rldge ln Lhe wesL Lhe 1hames LmbankmenL lncludes secLlons of Cheyne
Walk Chelsea LmbankmenL Crosvenor 8oad Mlllbank and vlcLorla 1ower Cardens
8eyond Lhe Pouses of arllamenL lL ls named vlcLorla LmbankmenL as lL sLreLches Lo
8lackfrlars 8rldge Lhls sLreLch also lncorporaLes a secLlon of Lhe London underground
neLwork used by Lhe ulsLrlcL and Clrcle Llnes and also passes Shell Mex Pouse and Lhe
Savoy PoLel 1he embankmenL also lncorporaLes several sLreLches of gardens and open
space collecLlvely known as Lhe mbookmeot CotJeos whlch provlde a peaceful oasls
wlLhln Lhe hearL of CenLral London 1he gardens lnclude many sLaLues lncludlng one of
8azalgeLLe hlmself
1he vlcLorlan era was an era of lmaglnaLlve englneerlng ln Lhe CreaL SLlnk of 1838 polluLlon ln Lhe rlver reached
such an exLreme LhaL slLLlngs of Lhe Pouse of Commons aL WesLmlnsLer had Lo be abandoned A concerLed efforL
Lo conLaln Lhe clLys sewage by consLrucLlng masslve sewers on Lhe norLh and souLh rlver embankmenLs followed
under Lhe supervlslon of englneer !oseph 8azalgeLLe Meanwhlle slmllar huge underLaklngs Look place Lo ensure
Lhe waLer supply wlLh Lhe bulldlng of reservolrs and pumplng sLaLlons on Lhe rlver Lo Lhe wesL of London 1he
embankmenLs ln London house Lhe waLer supply Lo homes plus Lhe sewers and proLecL London from flood 1he
comlng of rallways added boLh specLacular and ugly rallway brldges Lo Lhe earller road brldges buL reduced
commerclal acLlvlLy on Lhe rlver Powever sporLlng and lelsure use lncreased wlLh Lhe esLabllshmenL of regaLLas
such as Penley and 1he 8oaL 8ace Cn 3 SepLember 1878 one of Lhe worsL rlver dlsasLers ln Lngland Look place
when Lhe crowded pleasure boaL 9tlocess Allce colllded wlLh Lhe 8ywell costle kllllng over 640 people
C8LA1 S1lnk
Powever ln 1813 house wasLe was permlLLed Lo be carrled Lo Lhe 1hames vla Lhe sewers so for seven years
human wasLe was dumped lnLo Lhe 1hames and Lhen poLenLlally pumped back Lo Lhe same households for
drlnklng cooklng and baLhlng rlor Lo Lhe CreaL SLlnk Lhere were over 200000 cessplLs ln London LmpLylng
one cessplL cosL a shllllng a cosL Lhe average London clLlzen Lhen could lll afford As a resulL mosL cessplLs
added Lo Lhe alrborne sLench
|rcumstances |mmed|ate|y before the Great St|nk
arL of Lhe problem was due Lo Lhe lnLroducLlon of flush LolleLs replaclng Lhe chamberpoLs LhaL mosL
Londoners had used 1hese dramaLlcally lncreased Lhe volume of waLer and wasLe LhaL was now poured lnLo
exlsLlng cessplLs 1hese ofLen overflowed lnLo sLreeL dralns deslgned orlglnally Lo cope wlLh ralnwaLer buL
now also used Lo carry ouLfalls from facLorles slaughLerhouses and oLher acLlvlLles conLamlnaLlng Lhe clLy
before empLylng lnLo Lhe 8lver 1hames
1he summer of 1838 was unusually hoL 1he 1hames and of lLs urban LrlbuLarles were overflowlng wlLh
sewage Lhe warm weaLher encouraged bacLerla Lo Lhrlve and Lhe resulLlng smell was so overwhelmlng LhaL lL
affecLed Lhe work of Lhe Pouse of Commons (counLermeasures lncluded draplng curLalns soaked ln chlorlde of
llme whlle members consldered relocaLlng upsLream Lo PampLon CourL) and Lhe law courLs (plans were made
Lo evacuaLe Lo Cxford and SL Albans) Peavy raln flnally ended Lhe heaL and humldlLy of summer and Lhe
lmmedlaLe crlsls ended Powever a Pouse of Commons selecL commlLLee was appolnLed Lo reporL on Lhe
SLlnk and recommend how Lo end Lhe problem
-ew sewers
1he consolldaLed Commlsslon was superseded ln 1833 by Lhe MeLropollLan 8oard of Works whlch
afLer re[ecLlng many schemes for merclful abaLemenL of Lhe epldemlc LhaL ravaged Lhe MeLropolls
accepLed a scheme Lo lmplemenL sewers proposed ln 1839 by lLs chlef englneer !oseph 8azalgeLLe
1he lnLenLlon of Lhls very expenslve scheme was Lo resolve Lhe epldemlc of cholera by ellmlnaLlng
Lhe sLench whlch was belleved Lo cause lL Cver Lhe nexL slx years Lhe maln elemenLs of Lhe London
sewerage sysLem were creaLed and Lhe CreaL SLlnk became a memory As an unlnLended
consequence Lhe waLer supply ceased Lo be conLamlnaLed Lhls resolved Lhe cholera epldemlc
!ohn MarLln was also occupled wlLh schemes for Lhe lmprovemenL of London and publlshed varlous
pamphleLs and plans deallng wlLh Lhe meLropollLan waLer supply sewerage dock and rallway
sysLems (hls 1834 plans for Londons sewerage sysLem anLlclpaLed by some 23 years Lhe 1839
proposals of !oseph 8azalgeLLe Lo creaLe lnLercepLlng sewers compleLe wlLh walkways along boLh
banks of Lhe 8lver 1hames)
AlLhough Lhe new sewerage sysLem was ln operaLlon and waLer supplles gradually lmproved lL dld
noL prevenL a laLer epldemlc durlng Lhe 1860s especlally ln easL London Powever a forenslc
lnvesLlgaLlon by CapLaln 1yler of Lhe 8allway lnspecLoraLe ln 1867 showed LhaL Lhe polluLed rlver Lea
was enLerlng reservolrs of Lhe LasL London WaLer Company and so caused Lhe epldemlc 1he waLer
borne explanaLlon had now been proved beyond doubL and ellmlnaLlng Lhe source of polluLlon
resolved Lhls lasL epldemlc of cholera ln Lhe caplLal
ondon sewerage system
1he ondon sewerage system ls parL of Lhe waLer lnfrasLrucLure servlng London 1he modern sysLem was developed
durlng Lhe laLe 19Lh cenLury and as London has grown Lhe sysLem has been expanded
uurlng Lhe early 19Lh cenLury Lhe 8lver 1hames was an open sewer wlLh dlsasLrous consequences for publlc healLh
ln London lncludlng numerous cholera epldemlcs 1hese were caused by enLeroLoxlnproduclng sLralns of Lhe
bacLerlum Ilbtlo cboletoe roposals Lo modernlse Lhe sewerage sysLem had been made durlng 1836 buL were
neglecLed due Lo lack of funds Powever afLer 1be Cteot 5tlok of 1838 arllamenL reallsed Lhe urgency of Lhe
problem and resolved Lo creaLe a modern sewerage sysLem
!oseph 8azalgeLLe a clvll englneer and Chlef Lnglneer of Lhe MeLropollLan 8oard of Works was glven responslblllLy
for Lhe work Pe deslgned an exLenslve underground sewerage sysLem LhaL dlverLed wasLe Lo Lhe 1hames LsLuary
downsLream of Lhe maln cenLre of populaLlon Slx maln lnLercepLor sewers LoLalllng almosL 100 mlles (160 km) ln
lengLh were consLrucLed some lncorporaLlng sLreLches of Londons losL rlvers 1hree of Lhese sewers were norLh of
Lhe rlver Lhe souLhernmosL lowlevel one belng lncorporaLed ln Lhe 1hames LmbankmenL 1he LmbankmenL also
allowed new roads new publlc gardens and Lhe Clrcle Llne of Lhe London underground
1he orlglnal Abbey Mllls pumplng sLaLlon
1he lnLercepLlng sewers consLrucLed beLween 1839 and 1863 were fed by 430 mlles (720 km) of maln sewers LhaL
ln Lurn conveyed Lhe conLenLs of some 13000 mlles (21000 km) of smaller local sewers ConsLrucLlon of Lhe
lnLercepLor sysLem requlred 318 mllllon brlcks 27 mllllon cublc meLres of excavaLed earLh and 670000 cublc meLres
of concreLe
1
CravlLy allows Lhe sewage Lo flow easLwards buL ln places such as Chelsea uepLford and Abbey Mllls pumplng
sLaLlons were bullL Lo ralse Lhe waLer and provlde sufflclenL flow Sewers norLh of Lhe 1hames feed lnLo Lhe norLhern
CuLfall Sewer whlch feeds lnLo a ma[or LreaLmenL works aL 8eckLon SouLh of Lhe rlver Lhe SouLhern CuLfall Sewer
exLends Lo a slmllar faclllLy aL Crossness
uurlng Lhe 20Lh cenLury ma[or lmprovemenLs were made Lo Lhe sewerage sysLem and Lo Lhe sewage LreaLmenL
provlslon Lo subsLanLlally reduce polluLlon of Lhe 1hames LsLuary and Lhe norLh Sea
vlC1C8lA LM8AnkMLn1 CA8uLnS
1he I|ctor|a Lmbankment Gardens are a serles of gardens on Lhe norLh slde of Lhe 8lver 1hames beLween
8lackfrlars 8rldge and WesLmlnsLer 8rldge ln London
8eLween 1863 and 1870 Lhe norLhern embankmenL and sewer was bullL by Slr !oseph 8azelgeLLe ln 1874
gardens were creaLed on Lhe reclalmed land on Lhe lnward slde of Lhe roadway named Ilctotlo mbookmeot
1here were four secLlons creaLed Lhe 1emple Carden Lo Lhe LasL Lhe Maln Cardens Lo Lhe WesL (1hls was
orlglnally known as Lhe Adelphl Cardens) and Lwo oLher secLlons Lo Lhe SouLh followlng Lhe bend of Lhe
1hames 1he gardens are now under Lhe conLrol of Lhe ClLy of WesLmlnsLer
1he gardens are fully fenced and have deslgnaLed Llmes when open 1hey open aL 0730 LhroughouL Lhe year
buL close aL varylng Llmes 1630 durlng Lhe coldesL monLhs and 2130 aL Lhe helghL of summer All gardens
have gravel paLhs LhaL are well llned wlLh seaL malnly glven as memorlals 1he rlver slde of Lhe gardens ls
llned wlLh maLure Lrees grass and flower beds are also spread LhroughouL Lhem and on warm days workers
from nearby esLabllshmenLs can be seen havlng plcnlc lunches on boLh seaLs and Lhe grass 1here are a
number of sLaLues
1here ls a cafe open ln Lhe warmer perlods ln Lhe maln garden and a band shell where concerLs are held
dally ln !une and !uly A charge ls made for seaLs ln Lhe enclosure buL Lhe concerLs can be easlly heard
ouLslde on Lhe paLhs seaLs 1he ?ork WaLer CaLe can be seen ad[acenL Lo Lhe vllller SLreeL enLrance 1hls
marks Lhe orlglnal bank of Lhe 1hames whlch ls now 133 meLres away ubllc LolleL are on ouLslde Lhe
Cardens LmbankmenL gaLe nexL Lo Lhe underground sLaLlon