Thames embankment, London, England. The Thames Embankment was a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment. Started in 1862, the present embankment on the northern side of the river was primarily designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. His scheme reclaimed 22 acres of land from the river. Much of the granite used in the projects was brought from Lamorna Cove in Cornwall. The quarried stone was shaped into blocks on site before being loaded on to barges and transported up the English Channel into the Thames. From Battersea Bridge in the west, the Thames Embankment includes sections of Cheyne Walk, Chelsea Embankment, Grosvenor Road, Millbank and Victoria Tower Gardens. Beyond the Houses of Parliament, it is named Victoria Embankment. Some parts of the Embankment were built in the 20th century, having been reconstructed following wartime bomb damage or natural disasters such as the 1928 Thames flood. Detroit Publishing Company circa 1890-1900.