Bazalgette’s London Summer 2021 Update

After a difficult start to the year, due to being in lockdown, we got our Bazalgette project back on track with School sessions and Community walks with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

We manage to successfully work with two primary schools, Christchurch C of E and St Paul’s CE, and a few community groups (Abbey Centre, Westminster Adult Education, Hammersmith Community Gardens Association)  all of which enjoyed visiting the Riverside and learning more about Bazalgette’s work.

School Sessions

Participating schools had the opportunity to learn about Sir Joseph Bazalgette, his work and how he changed London. We built bridges, visited the riverside and made maps and artwork. Most children were not familiar with Bazalgette’s legacy but by the end of the project gained a better understanding of how Bazalgette contributed to the health and wellbeing of Londoners during a challenging time (The Great Stink!) and how he was able to envisioned and execute plans to improve London’s infrastructure.

Community Walks

We enjoyed leading community walks along the River Thames and getting people to experience Bazalgette’s work including the Embankment, the bridges he designed (Hammersmith, Putney and Battersea) and his memorial at the Victoria Embankment.

We visited Putney Bridge and walked all the way to Battersea Bridge with a couple of groups.

And we took a few groups around central London to experience the original Embankments (Victoria, Albert and Chelsea).

We’re currently well under way making a short film about Bazalgette which we are keen to share with all, until our next post!

Discover your (Bazalgette’s) London!