Bazalgette Memorial facts for kids
The Sir Joseph Bazalgette Memorial is a special statue in London. It honors a very important engineer named Joseph Bazalgette. This memorial was created by the sculptor George Blackall Simonds. You can find it on the Victoria Embankment, which is a famous riverside road in London.
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Who Was the Artist?
Meet George Blackall Simonds
George Blackall Simonds (1843–1929) was a talented sculptor from Reading, England. He was also a director of a brewery! Simonds showed his art many times at the Royal Academy, which is a famous art school and gallery. He learned his skills from great teachers in Dresden and Brussels. Simonds made over 200 artworks using many different materials.
Simonds' Famous Works
One of Simonds' well-known sculptures is The Falconer. You can see it in Central Park in New York City. Many of his larger artworks are located in or near Reading. For example, he created the impressive Maiwand Lion in the Forbury Gardens. He also made statues of important people in Reading, like Queen Victoria and Statue of George Palmer.
Simonds also designed a war memorial in Bradfield, Berkshire, in 1922. This memorial remembered the local people who lost their lives in the First World War.
Who Was Sir Joseph Bazalgette?
London's Master Engineer
Sir Joseph Bazalgette was a very busy and important engineer during the Victorian era. He designed the Embankment along the north side of the River Thames. He also created the smaller Albert Embankment on the south side. These embankments helped to control the river and create new land.
Solving the Great Stink
Bazalgette's biggest achievement was building a new sewer network for central London. He was the chief engineer for London's Metropolitan Board of Works. In 1858, London had a terrible problem called the "Great Stink". The River Thames was very polluted and smelled awful. This pollution also caused serious diseases like cholera.
Bazalgette's new sewer system was a huge project. It helped to get rid of the waste and stop the spread of cholera. His work was key to making London a much cleaner and healthier city. It also started the process of cleaning up the River Thames.
