1915 Sculpture Walk: Victoria Embankment

Philip Ward-Jackson will lead a walk exploring the Victorian and Edwardian sculptural pantheon of the Embankment, which included, somewhat begrudgingly, its own creator, Sir Joseph Bazalgette. This pantheon, initiated after the official opening of the Victoria Embankment on 13 July 1870, became a sort of catch-all for popular figures, some now largely forgotten, whose spheres of activity disqualified them from occupying such exclusive sites as Parliament Square or Trafalgar Square. The very arbitrariness of this collection, reflects the values of the age. Portraiture is the keynote but allegories and attributes provide an interpretative gloss. The walk will end at the statue of John Stuart Mill in the gardens at the North end of Savoy Place. Meet by the statue of General Gordon in the Embankment Gardens, close to the Ministry of Defence, just off Horseguards Avenue. Tube: Embankment or Westminster. £15. Booking required.*