Victoria Tower Gardens

Victoria Tower Gardens is a public park along the north bank of the River Thames in London. As its name suggests, it is adjacent to the Victoria Tower, the south-western corner of the Palace of Westminster. The park, which extends southwards from the Palace to Lambeth Bridge, sandwiched between Millbank and the river, also forms part of the Thames Embankment.

Features

The park features:
*A reproduction of the sculpture "The Burghers of Calais" by Auguste Rodin, purchased by the British Government in 1911 and positioned in the Gardens in 1915.
*A 1930 statue of the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, by A.G. Walker
*The Buxton Memorial Fountain – originally constructed in Parliament Square, this was removed in 1940 and placed in its present position in 1957. It was commissioned by Charles Buxton MP to commemorate the emancipation of slaves in 1834, dedicated to his father Thomas Fowell Buxton, and designed by Gothic architect Samuel Sanders Teulon (1812-1873) in 1865.
* A stone wall with two modern-style goats with kids – situated at the southern end of the Gardens.

Transport

The nearest London Underground stations are Westminster and Pimlico.

History

It was created during the 1870s by Joseph Bazalgette, and was part of a project for the Metropolitan Board of Works to provide London with a modern sewerage systemFact|date=September 2008.

The gardens were later expanded. This expansion was discussed in parliament in 1898 in the ' Victoria Embankment extention and St John's improvement bill' [cite web|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1898/apr/26/victoria-embankment-extension-and-st|title=VICTORIA EMBANKMENT EXTENSION AND ST. JOHN'S IMPROVEMENT BILL|publisher=Hansard Millbank|accessdate=2008-09-14] . A number of wharf's were subsequently compulsorially purchased, including Dorset Wharf (shown on 1885 map) [cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=075-col_15-2&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18|title=Corporation of London|publisher=The National Archive|accessdate=2008-09-14] which was purchased from George Taverner Miller, son of Taverner John Miller, from where he ran a 'Sperm Oil Merchants and Spermaceti refining' business. The effects from this business and others were sold in 1905cite web|url=http://nq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/issue_pdf/frontmatter_pdf/s10-V/117.pdf|title=Westminster changes in 1905|publisher=Oxford Journals|dateaccessed=27-12-30] .

External links

* [http://www.oldlondonmaps.com/stanfordpages/westminster04b.html School board map of the area 1872]
* [http://www.londonancestor.com/maps/bc-westm-s.htm Boundary Commission map from 1885]
* [http://www.oldmapsbooks.com/Sept2000pics/sept24/24septsoutheastlondon2.jpgWaterloo, Westminster, Lambeth map 1896]
* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=075-col_15-2&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18 Details of compulsory purchase of Dorset Wharf]

References