Description
Battersea Bridge Gardens is a small riverside garden at the foot of Battersea Bridge created when the Thames was embanked to designs of Sir Joseph Bazalgette from 1869 The Embankment was completed as far as Battersea Bridge by 1874. Despite an Enabling Bill introduced by the LCC in 1896, due to local objections, the riverside west of the bridge was not embanked at that time. The garden has raised beds, seating, curved path, areas of grass and a number of trees including a mulberry tree. In 2005 a statue of James McNeill Whistler by Nicholas Dimbleby was erected in the garden, commissioned by the Chelsea Arts Club.
Practical Information
| Site location | Cheyne Walk/Chelsea Embankment/Battersea Bridge |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW3 |
| What3Words | ///punchy.began.danger |
| Type of Site | Public Gardens |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Tube: Sloane Square (District, Circle), Fulham Broadway (District) then bus. |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2013 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
These small gardens at the foot of Battersea Bridge were among a number of riverside gardens created after the Thames was embanked by Sir Joseph Bazalgette in 1874. Embankment of the river was first proposed in 1839 by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests to provide a much-needed new road as well as extra sewerage, but work did not begin until the 1850s along the Pimlico frontage. Lack of funding halted the scheme until 1871 when William Webster was appointed as contractor under the supervision of Bazalgette, Chief Engineer to the Metropolitan Board of Works, which had been set up in 1855. The work was completed as far as Battersea Bridge by 1874. Chelsea Embankment was officially opened in May 1874 by Lieutenant Col Sir James MacNaughton Hogg, Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works. The embankment west of Battersea Bridge was not embanked despite an Enabling Bill introduced by the London County Council in 1896 due to strong objections locally and the Chelsea Vestry carried out minor improvements at the time; in the 1950s the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea undertook further improvements.
The gardens alongside the bridge add a splash of colour with raised beds and bedding to the road, seating and a curved path with crazy paving, areas of grass with a number of trees and a railed area to the west, which has a mulberry tree. A statue of James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was commissioned from sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby following a competition by the Chelsea Arts Club and unveiled in September 2005. This bronze statue on a granite plinth overlooks that part of the river Thames known as 'Whistler's Reach' on the north side of Battersea Bridge. He was one of a number of artists including J M W Turner and John Sell Cotman who famously painted the old Battersea Bridge, London's last surviving wooden bridge on the Thames. Whistler's controversial and influential painting 'Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge' was painted in 1872-5. In 1879 the old bridge was taken into public ownership, and was demolished in 1885 and replaced with the existing bridge.
The gardens alongside the bridge add a splash of colour with raised beds and bedding to the road, seating and a curved path with crazy paving, areas of grass with a number of trees and a railed area to the west, which has a mulberry tree. A statue of James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was commissioned from sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby following a competition by the Chelsea Arts Club and unveiled in September 2005. This bronze statue on a granite plinth overlooks that part of the river Thames known as 'Whistler's Reach' on the north side of Battersea Bridge. He was one of a number of artists including J M W Turner and John Sell Cotman who famously painted the old Battersea Bridge, London's last surviving wooden bridge on the Thames. Whistler's controversial and influential painting 'Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge' was painted in 1872-5. In 1879 the old bridge was taken into public ownership, and was demolished in 1885 and replaced with the existing bridge.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ269774 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.0662 |
| Site Ownership | RB Kensington & Chelsea |
| Site Management | Transport for London |
| Dates | 1874; mid C20th |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Battersea Bridge |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Thames |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Metropolitan Importance (Thames) |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Archaeological Priority Area (Thames) |
| Other LA Designation | Thames Policy Area. Thames Path. Area of Metropolitan Importance |
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Nearby parks and gardens
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
This private town garden was designed for Sir Hugh Lane in 1909 by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the planting plan by Gertrude Jekyll, as part of the refurbishment of his house at No. 100 Cheyne Walk. The house stands on what was once part of the site occupied by the C17th Lindsey House, famous as the residence of the 3rd Earl of Lindsey, Lord Great Chamberlain to Charles II. Reinstatement of the 1909 plan for the rear garden has been undertaken since 1983.
This private town garden was designed for Sir Hugh Lane in 1909 by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the planting plan by Gertrude Jekyll, as part of the refurbishment of his house at No. 100 Cheyne Walk. The house stands on what was once part of the site occupied by the C17th Lindsey House, famous as the residence of the 3rd Earl of Lindsey, Lord Great Chamberlain to Charles II. Reinstatement of the 1909 plan for the rear garden has been undertaken since 1983.
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Roper's Gardens were created as a public amenity on a bomb site following destruction of the buildings in 1941. The name recalls the fact that the land was part of the gift of Sir Thomas More to his daughter Margaret on her marriage to William Roper. The gardens were designed by landscape architect Peter Shepheard and opened in 1964 with a long raised terrace of sheltered seating overlooking areas of lawn, with shrubbery, flower beds and trees. Among the sculptural works is an unfinished relief by Jacob Epstein, who had a studio near here from 1909-14, and the centrepiece of the garden is The Awakening by Gilbert Ledward.
Roper's Gardens were created as a public amenity on a bomb site following destruction of the buildings in 1941. The name recalls the fact that the land was part of the gift of Sir Thomas More to his daughter Margaret on her marriage to William Roper. The gardens were designed by landscape architect Peter Shepheard and opened in 1964 with a long raised terrace of sheltered seating overlooking areas of lawn, with shrubbery, flower beds and trees. Among the sculptural works is an unfinished relief by Jacob Epstein, who had a studio near here from 1909-14, and the centrepiece of the garden is The Awakening by Gilbert Ledward.
Allen Hall Seminary Garden is one of the largest private gardens in Chelsea, its history dating back to 1524 when Sir Thomas More purchased land in Chelsea and Kensington for his Great House. Although his house is long gone, one of the mulberry trees he planted survives in the Seminary Garden. His gardens had a rich variety of flowering shrubs, herbs and trees, an orchard and kitchen gardens. The current building is a former C19th convent and since 1975 has been the Seminary of the RC Archdiocese of Westminster. A central courtyard garden has a fountain and shrubs and the main garden has lawn surrounded by roses, evergreen and flowering shrubs and trees; a path leads to a secluded walled garden beyond which is More's mulberry tree, and finally an area planted in c.2004 as the St Thomas More Mulberry Walk.