- Albert Embankment
The Albert Embankment is a stretch of the river bank on the south side of the
River Thames inCentral London . It stretches approximately one mile (1.6 km) northwards fromVauxhall Bridge toWestminster Bridge , and is located in theLondon Borough of Lambeth .Albert Embankment is also the name given to the part of the
A3036 road between Vauxhall Bridge andLambeth Bridge , where it adjoinsLambeth Palace Road andLambeth Road .Created by the engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette for the
Metropolitan Board of Works between July 1866 and November 1869, it included land reclaimed from the river and various small timber and boat-building yards, and was intended to protect low-lying areas ofLambeth from flooding while also providing a new highway to bypass local congested streets.Unlike Bazalgette's
Thames Embankment (includingChelsea Embankment andVictoria Embankment ), the Albert Embankment does not incorporate major interceptor sewers. This allowed the southern section of the embankment (upstream from Lambeth Bridge) to include a number of bridges into a small dock—White Hart Dock—used for barges to bring clay and other supplies to theRoyal Doulton pottery works.Some of the reclaimed land was sold to the trustees of
St Thomas' Hospital . To the north of Lambeth Bridge, the Embankment is a narrower pedestrian promenade in front of the hospital, with motor traffic carried behind the hospital on Lambeth Palace Road.In common with other Bazalgatte works, the original embankment is adorned with
Sturgeon Lamp Standards to the designs of George Vulliamy. The southern limit of Bazalgatte's embankment was opposite Tinworth Street, where the road moves away from the riverside.The stretch south of Tinworth Street was occupied by industrial and wharf premises until
World War II . These areas have subsequently been redeveloped as offices, with extensions to the embankment being constructed to a more utilitarian design than the Bazalgatte/Vulliamy stretch. Public pedestrian access to this newer embankment between Lambeth Bridge and the main road stretch of Albert Embankment was only secured in the 1990s. Parts of this section of the embankment have a provisional appearance, as the landowners still have hopes for future redevelopment that could move the embankment line further into the river. However, encroachment of the tidal river bed habitat is contrary to the current planning policies of Lambeth.See also
*
List of eponymous roads in London External links
* [http://www.vauxhallsociety.org.uk/Albert.html Albert Embankment] and [http://www.vauxhallsociety.org.uk/Whitehart.html White Hart Dock] on [http://www.vauxhallsociety.org.uk/ Vauxhall Society website]
* [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47063 Survey of London entry (1951)]
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