The Gardens were created during the 1870s by Joseph Bazalgette, and was part of a project for the Metropolitan Board of Works to provide London with a modern sewerage system. The gardens were later expanded. This expansion was discussed in parliament in 1898 in the 'Victoria Embankment extension and St John's improvement bill'. A number of wharves were compulsorily purchased, including Dorset Wharf which was purchased from George Taverner Miller, son of Taverner John Miller, from where he ran a "Sperm Oil Merchants and Spermaceti refining" business. The effects from this business and others were sold in 1905.
Features
The park features:
A cast of the sculpture The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin, purchased by the British government in 1911 and positioned in the gardens in 1915.
A stone wall with two modern-style goats with kids – situated at the southern end of the Gardens.
From 4 to 11 August 2014 the light installation spectra by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda was situated in the gardens to commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War.
In January 2015 David Cameron announced on behalf of the Holocaust Memorial Foundation that there was to be a new UK Holocaust Memorial and associated Learning Centre built in central London. At that stage three particular sites were proposed: the Imperial War Museum, Potter's Field near London City Hall, and on Millbank, south of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. However, in July 2016 it was announced that Victoria Tower Gardens had been chosen for both the memorial and underground learning centre. A design competition was launched, and in October 2017 the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation jury announced their chosen design. The proposed construction will be submitted for planning permission to Westminster City Council who will have to consider breaching their own rules on new monuments in this zone and the effect on heritage views of the Palace of Westminster. The memorial plans attracted strong opposition to the use of this small park, both from the grassroots campaign of local residents through the 'Save Victoria Tower Gardens' and international organisations like the UNESCO advisor ICOMOS.
