Victoria Tower Gardens

Victoria Tower Gardens lies along the north bank of the Thames in Westminster, between Millbank and the river. It stretches from the Palace of Westminster’s Victoria Tower south to Lambeth Bridge, forming part of the Thames Embankment. Created in two stages in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is a Grade II* listed park within a conservation area. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Westminster, it is also a zone of Monument Saturation. The park’s origins go back to 1867, when the government bought land to reduce fire risk to the Palace. William Henry Smith gave £1,000 and Parliament added £1,400 to open the first gardens in 1881. In 1913–14 the gardens were enlarged southwards after the London County Council insisted the new land be kept as public open space. The layout changed again in 1956–57 to give an uninterrupted view of the Palace. Visitors find several notable features in the gardens. A cast of Rodin’s The Burghers of Calais stands near the river, placed there in 1914. A statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, now called the Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial, was added in 1930. The Buxton Memorial Fountain, moved from Parliament Square in 1957, commemorates the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. At the southern end a stone wall holds two modern-style goats with kids. The gardens also hosted the light installation spectra in 2014 to mark the start of the First World War.