Festival of Britain construction site on South Bank
Festival of Britain construction site on South Bank
festival of britain
Record No
91799
Title
Festival of Britain construction site on South Bank
Description
Festival of Britain construction site in York Road, Waterloo, by Waterloo Road. Steel girders rest on concrete retaining walls. On site is construction machinery including a steam crane with the contractors' name FITZPATRICK. To the left the rear aspect of numbers 6-16 York Road. In the background is the railway viaduct carrying trains from Waterloo East (formerly Waterloo Junction Station) across Hungerford Bridge to Charing Cross. There is a painted sign on the bridge, advertising "Illustrated, World News in Pictures Every Wednesday Threepence". Behind the viaduct the main entrance to Waterloo Station, completed in 1922, is in view. Known as the Victory Arch, it was designed by James Robb Scott and is a memorial to the 585 London and South Western Railway staff who were killed during the World War I. It was flanked by two sculptures featuring Roman goddesses: "1914" with Bellona in armour with a sword and torch, and "1918" showing Pax, the goddess of Peace sitting on Earth. This site now forms the Waterloo roundabout which encloses the IMAX cinema. The Festival of Britain was a nationwide event that took place in the summer of 1951. Originally intended to mark the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, it became a way to celebrate Britain and its achievements rather than including international themes. The construction of the Festival on its flagship South Bank site required the demolition of the industrial and residential buildings between Waterloo Bridge and County Hall. After the Festival, the South Bank site was cleared of all festival infrastructure except the Royal Festival Hall on the orders of Winston Churchill, who saw the Festival as a beacon for socialist ideas.
Date of execution
1950
Section
London Metropolitan Archives
Collection
LCC Photograph Library
Notes
- Updated 2010 10 28
Medium
photograph
Catalogue No
SC_PHL_01_260_F6906
London picture map location
Exact
Subjects
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