Great Victorian Way
Encyclopedia
The Great Victorian Way was an unbuilt infrastructure project presented to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Metropolitan Communications by Joseph Paxton
. in June 1855. It would have consisted of a ten mile covered loop around much of central and west London, integrating road and rail routes with commercial and domestic premises. Three river crossings — two on the main loop and one on a branch — would have continued the arcade, creating inhabited bridges. The proposal was sympathetically received by the committee, but ultimately rejected on grounds of cost. It prefigured the less ambitious Circle Line.
His suggested route went through the City
from Mansion House to Cheapside, then across Cannon Street, crossing the river between Southwark Bridge
and Blackfriars Bridge
. It ran through Lambeth and then crossed back to the north side of the river near the Houses of Parliament. It then passed near Victoria Street and through Brompton and Kensington Gardens
to the Great Western
terminus at Paddington
. It cut through Marylebone, then took a path eastwards midway between Oxford Street and Regent’s Park, to the termini of the London and North Western Railway
at Euston
and the Great Northern at Kings Cross. Then it returned to Mansion House via Islington. A branch from the South Western Railway’s Waterloo station
on the south side of the Thames crossed the river to a terminus near Regent Circus. The “girdle” would be about ten miles long, and the branch one mile. Paxton told the select committee there was no need to take the route further east as “towards Whitechapel
there are people who do not go about so much.”
The structure was modelled on Paxton‘s own Crystal Palace
. A glass-roofed arcade 72 feet wide and 108 feet high would cover a central roadway. From the City to Regent‘s Street it would have been lined with shops, while in in Brompton and other areas of west London there would have been private residences. Behind the shops and residences, there would be two levels of narrow gauge atmospheric railway tracks on each side, one for fast trains and one for slow trains. Atmospheric railway
s had failed in the past, but Robert Stephenson
, usually sceptical about the system, had assured Paxton that they would be practical in these more controlled conditions. A double wall would insulate the residences from the noise of the trains. Existing streets would cross the roadway on the level, with the railways running uninterrupted above.” People, I find”, Paxton said “will never go much above the ground, and they will never go under ground”. It would be dry, well-ventilated and easy to maintain—being under cover the road would never become muddy. The same basic cross-section would have been used for the river crossings as for the parts across land creating inhabited bridges — Victorian equivalents of Old London Bridge.
The walls of the arcade would be faced in ceramic tiles. Its glass roof would keep out the polluted atmosphere of London, and promote a healthy circulation of air. In the section across Kensington Gardens
there would be no shops or houses, and the arcade would provide a place to exercise in bad weather.
The road would have been open to all kinds of vehicles until nine in the morning, to allow for delivery of coal and merchandise, but only to omnibuses and passenger carriages after that time, At night the railway would carry goods between the various mainline railway termini. They would, however, have no direct link to any existing track.
Paxton estimated the total cost at 34 million pounds. Income would have been generated from the rental from the shops and houses, and from the railway, with no tolls being charged for pedestrians or vehicle passengers. He estimated that the railway would carry about 105,000 passengers each day.
Joseph Paxton
Sir Joseph Paxton was an English gardener and architect, best known for designing The Crystal Palace.-Early life:...
. in June 1855. It would have consisted of a ten mile covered loop around much of central and west London, integrating road and rail routes with commercial and domestic premises. Three river crossings — two on the main loop and one on a branch — would have continued the arcade, creating inhabited bridges. The proposal was sympathetically received by the committee, but ultimately rejected on grounds of cost. It prefigured the less ambitious Circle Line.
Plan presented to the select committee
Paxton pointed out that it took longer to travel between the mainline termini at Paddington and London Bridge than it did to travel by train between London Bridge and Brighton. His solution to this, and the problems of travelling between the City and the West End was to build a "boulevard or railway girdle", linking the termini, which were mostly built outside the central area of London.His suggested route went through the City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
from Mansion House to Cheapside, then across Cannon Street, crossing the river between Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge
Southwark Bridge is an arch bridge for traffic linking Southwark and the City across the River Thames, in London, England. It was designed by Ernest George and Basil Mott. It was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. and opened in 1921...
and Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is near the Inns of Court and Temple Church, along with Blackfriars station...
. It ran through Lambeth and then crossed back to the north side of the river near the Houses of Parliament. It then passed near Victoria Street and through Brompton and Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
to the Great Western
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
terminus at Paddington
Paddington station
Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
. It cut through Marylebone, then took a path eastwards midway between Oxford Street and Regent’s Park, to the termini of the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
at Euston
Euston station
Euston station may refer to one of the following stations in London, United Kingdom:*Euston railway station, a major terminus for trains to the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and part of Scotland...
and the Great Northern at Kings Cross. Then it returned to Mansion House via Islington. A branch from the South Western Railway’s Waterloo station
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
on the south side of the Thames crossed the river to a terminus near Regent Circus. The “girdle” would be about ten miles long, and the branch one mile. Paxton told the select committee there was no need to take the route further east as “towards Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
there are people who do not go about so much.”
The structure was modelled on Paxton‘s own Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...
. A glass-roofed arcade 72 feet wide and 108 feet high would cover a central roadway. From the City to Regent‘s Street it would have been lined with shops, while in in Brompton and other areas of west London there would have been private residences. Behind the shops and residences, there would be two levels of narrow gauge atmospheric railway tracks on each side, one for fast trains and one for slow trains. Atmospheric railway
Atmospheric railway
An atmospheric railway uses air pressure to provide power for propulsion. In one plan a pneumatic tube is laid between the rails, with a piston running in it suspended from the train through a sealable slot in the top of the tube. Alternatively, the whole tunnel may be the pneumatic tube with the...
s had failed in the past, but Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
, usually sceptical about the system, had assured Paxton that they would be practical in these more controlled conditions. A double wall would insulate the residences from the noise of the trains. Existing streets would cross the roadway on the level, with the railways running uninterrupted above.” People, I find”, Paxton said “will never go much above the ground, and they will never go under ground”. It would be dry, well-ventilated and easy to maintain—being under cover the road would never become muddy. The same basic cross-section would have been used for the river crossings as for the parts across land creating inhabited bridges — Victorian equivalents of Old London Bridge.
The walls of the arcade would be faced in ceramic tiles. Its glass roof would keep out the polluted atmosphere of London, and promote a healthy circulation of air. In the section across Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
there would be no shops or houses, and the arcade would provide a place to exercise in bad weather.
The road would have been open to all kinds of vehicles until nine in the morning, to allow for delivery of coal and merchandise, but only to omnibuses and passenger carriages after that time, At night the railway would carry goods between the various mainline railway termini. They would, however, have no direct link to any existing track.
Paxton estimated the total cost at 34 million pounds. Income would have been generated from the rental from the shops and houses, and from the railway, with no tolls being charged for pedestrians or vehicle passengers. He estimated that the railway would carry about 105,000 passengers each day.