The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-22 00:00:00

SIORNING SUN

THAMES EMBANKMENT AND IM-
PROVEMENT.
eThe following, which embraces a great variety
it most interesting matter connected with the
ler Thames, constitutes the greater part of
do
Report just made to the Corporation of Lon-
tl by Mr. Walker, the President of the Col-
es„e of Civil Engineers :
REPORT OF JAMES WALKER, CIVIL EN-

GI NEER.
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF TEE NAVIGATION
COMMITTEE.
23, Great George-street, Doc. 13, 1841.
theBlll--The object of the survey, which,in company. with
l City Solicitor, Capt. Bullock, R.N. ; Capt. Fisher,
'N, o principal Harbour Master : the Water Bailiff,
ling Mr. Leach, Clerk of the Works, I have made of
the Thames
„ arnes, between the London Stone at Staines
4° Gravesend, has been' to enable nit-, with the co-ope-
ration of the above gentlemen, to point out a remedy
iter the well
defects of the river, in respect to naviga-
si°a, es well as to salubrity, and to the comfort and
. •
%entence of the inhabitants and owners of property
a°ty its banks.
triflaring the thirty years that I have known the River,
have been proleseiocally employed upon some of
th
Principal engineering works on its shores, I arm not
i share that an inquiry to the same extent has been gone
ota although the evils existing in the river have been
jng felt, and partial measures have been adopted for
eir removal.
The first of these was immediately after the Fire of
pe°(l,°ll, in 1666, when Sir Christopher Wren pro-
rs aea the construction of a cone modious quay, or open
"art; from Blackfriars Bridge to the Tower, in con-
'
, efloence of which an Act was passed, in 1668, to pre-
ett the erection of buildings within forty feet of the
rtiver bank, between the Tower and the Temple, so as
eahays an open space, called the " forty foot way ;"t." [e`eh Act, however, was in a great degree rendered
:giaBtorly by encroachments, and was ultimately repeated
i:rhe next public measure of the kind was in 1767,
11,4. a century after Wren's proposal, when, in con-
fr'alon with the completion of Blackfriars Bridge, the
tne4ge of the Riser, from Paul's-wharf, up to
Including the Temple-gardens, was embanked,
IL'er the direction of the late Mr. the
elder
and engineer, in a straight line of half
teettlie in extent, at right angles with the Bridge,
object being, as stated, "to remove the
lldeeetnulation of mud, filth, and rubbish from the City
, which had rendered the wharfs inaccessible even
kt
111 water, was extremely offensive, and, in summer,
ault dangerous to the health of the neighbouring in-
is This measure, although partial and limited,
~the greatest modern embanking improvement that has
en .ccomplished.
ee'a 1770 the proposal for embanking 100 feet into
,-d= liver, in front of the space then called Durham-
d, now now the Adelphi terrace, was effected by Messrs.
tou,..aro,e_under an Act of Parliament, which, for reasons
ih.'vnelifficult to discover, was strenuously opposed by
Corporation of London at every stage.
Amongst the various schemes for improving the port
°f Amongst
which were proposed at the end of the last
f 414 be inning of the presnt century, there were several
theseareltin
g and amending the course of the river. Of
if and warehouses by eene was a /seen or w ler s
r' dessop, then at the head of his profession in this
etleltrY as a civil engineer ; another was by Mr. Ralph
!elker. Reports wore also prepared by Mr. Mylne,
ifr: Dance, Mr. Reveley, and other architects ; which
th the Reports of Committees thereon were printed.
e ea° Inquiries at that time terminated in the forma-
t°4 of the West India, then the London, afterwards
ite East India, the Commercial, and lastly, the St.
'''atharine Docks; but the river below bridge has, with
e:eel,
tem
e few exceptions, been left untouched.* Mr. Tel-
tea Report of 1823 referred chiefly to the probable
fleets upon the river by the removal of London Bridge.
ie The Report of Sir John Rennie and Mr Mylne, on
e Construction of a new line of quays along both shores
Zthe river, between the bridges of London and West-
ester, was made in 1831 ; and in the following year
r. Scott and Mr. Firth presented a Report, contain-
'llk a concise historical account of the proceedings in
Areference to the river, during the two last centuries,
ewhich I have taken the above statement of the
f 1668, and the improvement of 1767.
Lasto year I had the honour, as you are aware, to be
teleeted by the Treasury, the Commissioners f Public
Works, and the Navigation Committee of theo Corpora-
tiO4 of London, to report and estimate on embanking
the
1, river between Vauxhall and London bridges. This
learn° a subject of inquiry before a Select Committee
of the House of Commons. The evidence I then gave
41'4 been printed by order of the Committee ; it contains
eY opinion of the defects and means of improving that
Part of the river ; also, copy of the two Reports before
,ef
: erred to ; together wish the objections to the scheme,
-felted in the way of questions put to me chiefly by one
fo eh, Members of the Committi e. A reference, there-
fore-E:eo,
'e examination before that Committee will be
Batt,„'"ting and useful in the present inquiry.
"en te e°Pet of the investigation now on foot is
j the "re eetensive embracing the whole length within
Heart diction
4dietion of' the Lord Mayor, from Staines
Wards the mouth of the Thames, a distance of up-
'31.75 miles ; with London near the middle of it.
;tee Bis tic). this middle portion, namely, between. Cheleea
is e ark"flie Creek, a length of 16 miles, within which
doe-°4lPrehended the whole of the metropolis, and the
littelt:„'nd public works connected therewith, that our
lie,'" has been principally directed. Mr. Leach's
eti.rhert embraces the part above Chelsea, which con-
ti the t.he Upper Navigation ; and there is compa.ra-
Y little to remark upon the part below Barking
Nrfeeie,k, except in respect of the shoals, to which I shall
epee' and the lines for embankments which are shown
1;4,41e plans.
,41. e Subject is very important, whether considered
pitherenee to the commerce and shipping of London,
tee'elta extensive dock', and the country around and
district it ; or, as the great drain of a very extensive
iser,',et, calculated at about 6,000 square tides ; includ-
- e first city in the world, and therefore affecting the
health; wealth,andcomfort of millions of human beings.
ev,
tIAN ithout going into difficult questions as to the
111,"geg that may have taken place in the direction of
isliettleain stream of the river, it is evident that great
its "
"r and skill have been applied to confine it within
11nrpresent banks which, from London to the mouth of
Ti,"ver; a length, of 40 miles, are chiefly artificial.
tine;erobability is that as the embankments were g, ra-
ilighY raised, the ground at the back of them became
kttieeer by the deposit consequent upon the diminished
tlodi; of the waves upon it ; and that the creeks
ttem.regularities got filled up and levelled : notwith-
fent 41:1tg which the marshes arc still from six to seven
tic Oder the level of an average spring tide ; and
1let;I:". ten feet under tine highest tides. One of these
tetd,:!hat of the 18th October, 1841, the highest re-
Ilk j'a during at least half a century, rose three feet
tirit.tlebes above the Trinity Standard of average spring
11:,' °larked upon all the bridges ; and was ten feet
4tifi',,e, the level of the low marshes ; so that if the
Ivo ifi'eal embankments were cut through, the Thames
large ' at the very next tide, take possession of the
!„04 SPaoe which has been so long abstracted from it ;
wwelild be generally five times its present width.
Iteedeltteh over and prevent such a calamity, which
the entail very serious loss of life and property, is
Itieo"tY of Commissioners of Sewers, to whom
littlese of the counties make presentments. and
rare whose care breaches in the banks are of very
bee-, Occurrence ; the last, of great moment, having
lie; Dagenham, nearly one hundred and forty years
Preto the stopping of which, by Captain Perry,. was
Thaauehly the most important work done in the
thit-itlleea in the course of that century. During, the
ItiisZ Years that I have been engineer to the C.onn-
e-Plere for the part of the river extending from
teit'i.C°4 to below Dagenham, a distance of from twenty
Ple'eueirtY miles, no hi each of any consequence has taken
Cetril'ehere la, I believe, no trace in history as to the
bsbithen these embankments were formed ; the pro-
la,iity is that they are the work of the ancient
resultB; under Roman superintendence. They are the
Period °l skill and bold enterprise not unworthy of any
.
tiler these banks, and the oldest erections upon the
ttr' are suited to the present level of the water, there
lee , „ ".° good grounds for supposing that the tides up
ttil:eiti_er now reach a much higher level than when the
eee:rle"tnents were formed. If they do, it must be
tire Z' by the tides at sea being higher than in ancient
; for it would he unreasonable to suppose that,
oe teethe river extended to the foot of the rising ground
to Kent and Essex sides, the tide would not attain
it dia2iderabiy higher level at and above London, than
Widt`i! at the entrance of the Medway, from the great
tett,' of the mouth and form of tine river, or rather
Aar..V at that time.
is twt ['relent the level at high water at London-bridge
lertv° feet higher than at Sheernessef a length of
of it 141`,el ; and at London-bridge it is, on tine average
from ries of observations when the river was free
13seit, a" floods, one foot lower than at Richmond
oelele' Which is 1611 miles above London Bridge, end
first °Rile and a half below Teticiington, where the
etiehleeir is
placed across the River ; high water at
Tiibtind. being thus three feet above that at Sheerness.
114,,,e, high-water lend is not, of course, attained
thgnciut at the same instant of time. The difference
,h,°l4,:etinl,ea of high water at these places is about two
teen
at ; that at Richmond being two hours later
everQ ut London Bridge ; and ut that bridge, on the
‘je, two hours later than at Sheerness.
netiorlst old London Bridge stood, the regular inch-
° of the surface of the water was disturbed, there

,ne Principal work within my recollection is the re-
r00,..4`, by the Conservator of the River, of a dangerous
of concreted gravel from near the entrance of the
lode India Docks, called the Blackwall Rock, at con-
7rable expense, about 35 ears s.
t11,1•\„Ir• Lloyd's levels, Published inince the Transactions of
(la' Society in 1831.
observations were made in 1823, previously to
tenders ?ztovai of old London Bridge, under the superin-
- Mr. James Montague and Mr. Leach.