The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-27 00:00:00

THE THAMES EMBANKMENT.

Many of our readers have doubtless noticed the
arioas tripodial struvoires of rough timber that are
now to be seen in '.ne river, at a little distance from
its north shore, between Westminster and Black-
friars. The-se are not, as most people have sup-
posed, the, 9,1t4c/ei of fresh piers; they are the pre-
monitory symptoms of a much more important
charge. They indicate that work has been at last
commenced on the Thames Embankment. The
total length of the embanbnent proper is to be a
little over 6,000 feet. 11.8 width will vary at dif-
ferent parts from 200 feet at Temple-gardens to 450
feet at Hungerfr.',rd-bridge. Along its whole length
will be one no'ole roadway of 70 feet wide and two
foot ways of 15 feet wide each. Only on the east side
of fempi.e-gardens will the dimensions of this fine
avenue be reduced to a total width of 70 feet—
ram ely, 50 feet for road and 10 feet for each of the
I°'otways. The height of the road above high water
leVel will average about four feet, till the incline
commences by which it is carried up on arches till
it debouches into Bridge-street, Blackfriars, at
Chatham-place, and there for the present ends. The
height of the granite parapet protecting the road-
way will be four feet, and viewed from the river at
low water it will appear as a magnificent quay of
solid masonry, some 26 feet high, and more than a
mile and a half length.
'The face of the embankment will commence at
the northe'l abutment of new Westminster-bridge,
ini , a line with the water front of the Houses of Par-
"amf-at, and it will extend in a slightly curved line
to 'the northern brick pier of Hungerford-bridge.
At Richmond-terrace it will be 220 feet in front of
the present high water line, at Scotland-yard 400
feet, and at Hungerford-bridge 300 feet. From
Hungerford-bridge it wilt continue to the first
Middlesex pier 'of 'Waterloo-bridge, and oppositei
Buckingham-'street it will extend no less than 450
feet into o,e, river ; opposite Salisbury-street, 300
feet ; an.'d opposite Somerset-house, Mil foot. Tho
solid (..:mbankment is to terminate on the eastern
side of Temple-gardens, where it will ex-
tend about 200 feet into the river. From
tb.e junction at Westminster-bridge it will descend
at an inclination of 1 in 80 to the mean level of the
bank above high-water 'mark. From the east end
of the Temple-gard.eLs the ascent to Chatham-place
is to be 1 in 60, and from this point it will be taken
on wrought Iron arches of exceedingly handsome
design, cPArried on similarly ornamental cast-iron
oolointis, su as to allow a waterway under the road
to the London Gasworks and old Whitefriars docks.
We cannot help thinking that it is at this point,
above all others, that the bank ought to have been
solid, so as to do away altogether with the latter
nuisance at least. The item of " compensation,"
however, would have entered heavily into the cost
of such a sche-me, and, even as it is, more money
must be paid under this head than will be required
for the PActual construction of the whole embank-
ment.,

According to the dimensions which we have given
as to the width of the various parts of the work, it
Will be seen that a total area of no less than 34 acres
will be reclaimed from the bed of the river and added
to the metropolis in the form of one wide thorough-
fare, where it is most sorely needed. In other words,
the foreshore of noisome slime, which is now almost
as unsightly as it is unsavoury, will be done away
with at once and for ever, and its place occupied by
a noble granite causeway, planted with trees and
laid out with gardens. Of the 34 acres reclaimed,
no iess than 12 are to be laid out with trees and
flowers. Near Hungerford will be quite a little
park, larger in its area than the Temple-gardens.
There will be another quite as large between Hun-
gerford and Waterloo, The Templars will get a
strip of grass land 800 feet long by 120 wide,
which they will add on to the length of their
pleasant gardens. Ail the private houses facing
the river between Westminster and Whitehall get
additional garden land between them and the
embankment—in some cases as much as 180
feet, and none less than 100. Of course, as this
immense improvement to the properties is effected
without the least expense or trouble to the
owners, they are all clamorous for heavy com-
pensation at being forced to accept the gift. Even
Montagu-house gets its 100 feet of additional land
towards the river, and an acre of mnd beyond this
again removed for nothing. The level of the road-
way in front of this mansion is to be only 21 feet
above the Duke's garden, or in other words the
bank will pass it just at the same level and at
exactly the same distance as Parliament-street now
passes it in front. Of course the multitude of de-
tails involved in carrying out a scheme so gigantic
as this renders the preparation of all the working
drawings a matter of no ordinary difficulty. Mr.
Bazalgette is doing his utmost to hurry them well
forward, and as soon as they are completed the con-
tracts will be let, and the works commenced forth-
with. In all cases the foundations for the outer
wall are to be carried far below the bed of the river
and deep into the London clay. The borings that
have already been taken show that no reliable basis
for a superstructure of such weight can be got at a
less depth. The mud only covers soft gravelly sand
which extends downwards almost to the clay. In
some places a great depth of this black Thames
mud must be dredged away before even the most
preliminary steps can be taken. The mode of con-
structing the bank will be, in the first place, by
sinking massive square cast-iron caissons side by
aide along the line of the intended wall. These will
each be about 12 feet :quare by some 15 or 20 feet
high, according to the nature of the soil, and open
at top and bottom. When placed on end these soon
sink deeply by their own weight. AN the mud and
gravel is then dredged out of their interior, and
hydraulic or other pressure applied till they are
forced down some feet into the London clay, and
far below the bed of the river, the dredging out
being continued as they descend. The empty space
they each enclose will then be filled up with solid
concrete to a little below the level of low-water
mark, when each caisson will be firmly bolted to
its neighbour. On these will be laid the courses
of granite in massive blocks of great size. At the
base this wall will be 10 feet thick, with a back-
ing of three feet of concrete, the masonry being
laid slightly sloping backwards towards the
shore, and tapering in thickness till at the level
of the roadway, about 22 feet above low water, it
is reduced to 3 feet. This great retaining wall will
he built in sections of about 500 feet long, and as
fast as it is completed so as to keep out the tide the
low-level sewer will be constructed at a short dis-
tance behind it. The execution of the latter much-
needed work has been delayed only while the Le-
gislature were making up their minds about the
embankment. The sewer itself will only be six
f"" in diameter. About this again, and only some
two or three feet below the crown of the road, will
be what is termed a " subway," a most important
il‘rnt provement which all the new roads built by the
etropolitan Board of Works now possess. This
subway is a strong brick tunnel about five feet
wide on its inner diameter, and in which are car-
ried all the gas and
water
the top
'mains, so that either can
be repaired and replaetehdtaot once without pulling
up the roadway from
subway are finished the w 1 :o.le When the sewer and
.space between the
face of the wall and the presentt
level of the tide will
be filled in with earth, and
ou
laid on its surface
with the road and gardens we have already de-
scribed.

eans
Though we have spoken of the
Thames as the river wall, the term partvracing the
will
b rejoice
does justice to the details of the pie,
are yet matured. The public, we thin; f" ams they
to lenru that a reasonable concession will
to their tastes in the matter of architectural eb
made
difference of cost between a dead wall, likeauetht-y"
or ntl3' e
*
other wharf, and a wall of noble proportions,
is a matter of some 31,- per cent. on the whole'
outlay, and of course, therefore, the decision has
born in favour of the latter. The wall, therefore, if
may SO term it, will have a handt,ome parapet
and bold granite mouldings, while the front
will be relieved from a dull monotony of colour and
have light and shade given to it by properly placed
angles and abutments. There will be spacious open-
ings in it at all the places where the steamboats now
call, with broad flights of steps descending to them.
The stone pediments for the la,nps on the parapet
will he massive and imposing, and the lamps

themselves well-proportioned ornamental castings
(of great size and height. The who'e work
will cost nearly a million and a half, and the dif-
ference between making it an eyesore ~r an orna-
ment will not be greater than £lO,OOO.
Such are the main features of this ,reatest of all
the projected improvements of the metropolis. As
far as the present act enables them to go the Board
of Works stop short at Chatham-place. They are,
however, preparing to apply to Parliament for
powers enabling them to continue the broad road
from the Embankment across Chatham-place, and
by Earl-street and the back of Thames-street, cros-
sing Cannon-street in a diagonal line, and emerging
by the side of the Mansion-house. Without such a
continuation the Embankment would be but a mag-
nificent fragment of a great design.