13 July: Victoria Embankment

On this date in 1870 Victoria Embankment in London was opened by the then Prince of Wales and Princess Louise. 10 things you might not know about it:

1. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London.

2. It was one element of a three part project, which also included the Albert Embankment, from the Lambeth end of Westminster Bridge to Vauxhall; and the Chelsea Embankment, extending from Millbank to the Cadogan Pier at Chelsea, near Battersea Bridge.

3. The original date for the opening was to be 25 July 1870, but Queen Victoria Unexpectedly sent word on 8 July that she wanted to open it on the 13^th. What Queen Victoria said went, so there was a last minute push with about 2,000 workers toiling day and night to get it finished a week early. After all that, on the new appointed day, Queen Victoria was “indisposed”. Hence her son, the future King Edward VII, was the one who opened the Embankment on her behalf.

4. The Dictionary defines the word Embankment as a wall or bank of earth or stone built to prevent a body of water from flooding an area.

5. The Victoria Embankment was designed by civil engineer Francis Webb Sheilds. Construction, started in 1865, was under the direction of Joseph Bazalgette. The contractor for the work was Thomas Brassey. The net cost was £1,156,981.

6. Thirty-seven and a quarter acres of land was reclaimed from the River Thames. Nineteen of them became the road and footway. About ten acres were made into gardens and ornamental grounds for the public, and the remainder became the property of the Crown, the Societies of the Inner and Middle Temple and other landowners.

7. Why was it done? Partly in order to provide London with a new sewage system, and partly to relieve congestion on the Strand and Fleet Street.

8. In December 1878 Victoria Embankment became the first street in Britain to be permanently lit by Electricity.

9. London Underground stations along Victoria Embankment are Embankment and Temple. Its only London Bus route is the N550, a night bus providing a service when the Tube is closed.

10. Ships permanently moored by Victoria Embankment include HMS President, HQS Wellington, and PS Tattershall Castle.

Character birthday

Glare was violently opposed to plans to privatise rail companies, believing the system should be under government control. He comes from a long line of railway workers – both his father and grandfather were engineers. His father taught him to drive a train and he has worked his way up through the ranks to become a senior planner.

It is not known how or when his power of hypnotism first manifested. He was recruited by the Gunpowder Lot, a group intent on bringing down the government, in order to help them divert a train of nuclear waste to their hideout.

Who's That Girl?

Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.

His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.

A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?

Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?

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