Description
Millbank Tower, a 32-floor office tower designed by Ronald Ward & Partners, was built for Vickers in a pioneering curtain walled block of 1963, briefly the tallest building in London. In and around the podium, the landscaping has asymmetric beds, paving, planters and areas of shrubbery, particularly in the courtyard where the gardens are reflected in the mirrored ground floor windows. The effect is stylish and completely 'of its time'. Part of the site is known as the 'Speaker's Stables', presumably after such a facility that once existed here.
Practical Information
| Site location | Millbank |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW1 |
| What3Words | ///frog.scores.closed |
| Type of Site | Housing/Estate Landscaping |
| Borough | Westminster |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | Private |
| Public Transport | Tube: Pimlico (Victoria) |
| Research Updated | 1 November 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
A very complete set of working drawings for this building - and perhaps for the landscaping - are in the RIBA Drawings Collection.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ301787 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Private |
| Dates | 1963 |
| Designers | Ronald Ward & Partners |
| 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 | Westminster |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
Gallery
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The Tate Gallery was built in 1897 named after Sir Henry Tate who gave his collection to the nation and paid for the building. The site selected was part of the former site of the Millbank Penitentiary, which was demolished in 1890. Areas of garden flank the main entrance and as the buildings have been successively enlarged, the landscaped areas have also been re-modelled over the years. In 2000 the gallery was re-dedicated to British art and renamed Tate Britain, when the new Tate Modern was constructed at the former Bankside Power Station.
Millbank Gardens is a rectangular public garden that was created as part of the LCC's Millbank Estate of 1897-1902, whose towering mansion blocks overlook the garden. The Millbank Estate was built on a site formerly that of the Millbank Penitentiary, which had been earmarked for public housing by a Royal Commission in 1885, with its road plan established in 1896. The estate streets are tree-lined, with planted courtyards between blocks of different shapes. Surrounded by modern railings, the public garden has paving and areas of grass with terraces in the centre and at each end. There are a number of trees and planted tubs, as well as bedding displays.
Victoria Tower Gardens South run south from Lambeth Bridge and were created in 1864-70, following the embankment of the Thames by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. The landscaping consists of a simple strip of grass with a line of London plane trees along the river, and a linear path with a number of modern benches provided.
