Act of Queen Victoria rescues Victoria Tower Gardens
8th April 2022
The London Gardens Trust, which has been fighting so valiantly against the construction of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens, has just heard that the High Court judge found in their favour.
Although the judge did not agree with the points made over planning issues, she did find that the 1900 Act prohibited construction in the park. She decided that 'the appropriate remedy is to quash the decision, so as to enable further consideration of the implications of the 1900 Act'.
Read the court judgement in full
Read summary of court judgement
London Gardens Trust Heads To The High Court
22nd February 2022
To read updates CLICK HERE
PHOTOS FROM THIS MORNING !!
From 9-10am there willl be a ‘gentle’ demonstration outside the Law Courts (“the Royal Courts of Justice”) on The Strand. You will see the gates just by the zebra crossing. After which you’ll have the option of heading inside to watch the hearing. Do bring anyone and everyone who is interested in showing the press our support.
This High Court case is scheduled to continue on 23rd February, but the decision may take a few weeks. We’ll update further when we have news.
In the meantime.....
Rowan Moore has written another excellent piece for The Observer (click link) interviewing Martin Stern, a Holocaust survivor. The piece couldn’t have come at a better time and elegantly reinforces Rowan Moore’s great interview with Anita Lasker-Wallfisch (click link) from December 2020.
Also read here (click link) superb joint letter to The Secretary of State from the Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams (former Archbishop of Canterbury, theologian, Chancellor, University of South Wales) and Dr Irene Lancaster (historian of Jewish thought, Holocaust scholar and child of Holocaust survivors)
Tuesday 22nd February - London Gardens Trust head to the High Court!
News ! Victoria Tower Gardens
JANUARY 2022
Contractors do ground penetrating radar work in Victoria Tower Gardens, hoping to start excavations in February. We object to the Government's proposal to build a Holocaust Memorial and underground Learning Centre on this Grade 2 listed park. We support the London Gardens Trust whose legal case will be heard also in February.
22nd NOVEMBER 2021
GRANTED LEAVE TO APPEAL! Read more CLICK HERE
29th OCTOBER 2021
The London Gardens Trust (LGT) have at last heard that their appeal against the decision to grant planning permission for the Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens (VTG) is to be heard in the High Court. The judge has ruled that there is a case to answer on two of the six grounds: one is to do with the meaning of 'substantial harm', which LGT say will be caused to the grade 2* Buxton Memorial as well as the Grade 2 gardens themselves. The second is the fact that no alternative sites were seriously considered and weighed up against VTG.
Thorney Tales (22) - Rosamund's Pond
Everyone knows and loves the lake in St James’s Park but not everyone knows that there was another one before that called Rosamond’s Pond which was just as famous, indeed infamous, in its day and a source of delight for poets.
Pope, in “The Rape of the Lock” summed it up:
"This the blest lover shall for Venus take,
And send up vows from Rosamonda's lake."
Bishop Warburton was even more succinct, describing it as "long consecrated to disastrous love and elegiac poetry".
The pond was situated at the Buckingham House end of the park stretching from near the end of the existing lake, then a canal, to St James’s Street (now Buckingham Gate) in front of Tart Hall (long since demolished). There was also a vineyard nearby.
Often referred to in contemporary comedies as an assignation for married ladies with fashionable lovers but it also had a darker side which Fanny Burney hinted at in her writings, as a place where thwarted lovers drowned themselves in it. It was filled-in around 1770 when the Crown purchased Buckingham House and turned it into a palace.
Who was Rosamund? She is sometimes supposed to be ‘Fair Rosamond” Clifford, the favourite mistress of Henry ll who was later painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Burne-Jones and was the subject of many poems and myths (such as that she was murdered by Henry’s wife Eleanor of Aquitaine). A less flattering contemporary description came from the Welsh chronicler Gerald of Wales who dismissed her as 'that rose of unchastity.'
It seems that everyone can make their own images of Rosamond just as Hogarth did of the pond in his painting (above) which has Westminster Abbey with elongated wings posing between conveniently separated trees.
Thorney Tales (21) - Aphra Behn, playwright, poet, feminist, spy - Ahead of her times (1640-1689)

There are no women poets or playwrights buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey but in the nearby East Cloister lies Aphra Behn. She was a star of Restoration drama, writing 18 successful plays which was more than any male dramatist at the time with the possible exception of John Dryden. She was held in esteem by her peers but not long after sank almost without trace for centuries. This was partly because Restoration drama fell out of fashion but mainly because she wrote in a bawdy fashion which was tolerated in the permissive reign of Charles II but later not thought a fit occupation for a woman.
In recent years she has made a comeback into fashion partly due to Virginia Woolf’s famous exhortation on her tomb, that “all women together ought to let flowers fall”. Which is what happened in the Summer of 2021, when pupils from Urswick School in Hackney laid flowers on her grave with personal messages after they had given a - socially distanced - performance of some of Aphra’s work in the hallowed atmosphere of Poets’ Corner. I (Victor Keegan) was delighted to be part of the audience along with others from London Historians.
She was from a humble background but became an icon and role model way ahead of her time. She is still a fascinating talking point among feminists because while she dealt with gender mixing themes and was a proud libertine at a time when it was fashionable, she was also a Tory and a fierce royalist, which don't always go together. She didn't seem to believe in a God yet she dedicated part of a play to the staunchly Catholic James II before he did a moonlight flit out of the country.
In her time Aphra was a poet, novelist, spy and translator. She was probably the first woman to earn her living from writing even though she was always short of money. Nell Gwynn appeared in one of her plays as did Anne Bracegirdle, the esteemed actress, (in The Widow Ranter in 1689). Anne is buried next to Aphra in the East Cloister, close to Poets’ Corner but not quite in it.
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The Victoria Tower Gardens & The National Holocaust Memorial & Learning Centre
29th July 2021 - DECISION ! Government marks its own homework ....
Please CLICK HERE to read today's Press Release
The definitive book on the history of VTG ......
We have just a few copies left of Dorian's book. Please contact us if you would like to purchase a copy. Proceeds will now be re-directed to the London Gardens Trust who are continuing the legal battle.
Articles
- Events 2023/2024
- The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho - Performed by Paterson Joseph
- Whitehall - New Public Spaces Development Proposals
- Lambeth Bridge Safety and Security Project
- Victoria Tower Gardens
- Research Visit to the Archives - Tufton Street Tree & Plaque to Siegfried Sassoon
- New research into the 'Letter Purse' in our Archives collection
- Thorney Island Article in January issue of The House
- CONGRATULATIONS ! New Year Honours, January 2023
- The Society's Christmas Party 2022
- WCC Review into Replacement of Heritage Gaslights
- The Society is looking for a new Chair and Membership Secretary
- Our 36th AGM - 8th November 2022
- The Queen is dead, long live the King!
- The Royal Parks Panel - Sign Up!
- The Society's Summer Party - June 2022
- Local Choir Sing for Jubilee!
- Act of Queen Victoria rescues Victoria Tower Gardens
- Europe's 6th Most Gorgeous Park - February 2022
- Thorney Tales (22) - Rosamund's Pond
- News ! Victoria Tower Gardens
- The Stag Brewery, Palace Street - Collection of Photographs held at the Westminster Archives
- Thorney Tales (21) - Aphra Behn, playwright, poet, feminist, spy - Ahead of her times (1640-1689)
- Proposed destruction of Victoria Tower Gardens - Background to our Opposition
- Caring for the Poor & Vulnerable on Thorney Island, a Zoom talk - July 2021
- CoExistence - Elephants in the Parks, June/July 2021
- The IncrEDIBLE Collections at the RHS Lindley Library - A talk via Zoom by RHS Librarian Susan Robin, July 2021
- The Gardens of Westminster Abbey - A talk by Jan Pancheri, June 2021
- A Military Musical Spectacular - July 2021
- Westminster's Royal Aquarium - A talk by Victor Keegan, May 2021
- In the Shadow of St John's Smith Square - A Talk by Rosalind Vincent, May 2021
- Rediscovering the Medieval Palace of Westminster, Talk by Dr Elizabeth Biggs - April 2021
- St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row, A Talk by John Turpin - April 2021
- The History & Restoration of The Queen Anne State Bed - A talk by Ian Block, March 2021
- Plague - A talk by author Julie Anderson, March 2021
- St John's Smith Square Online Concert - Recording from 15th February 2021
- The Buildings of Green Park, A talk by Andrew Jones, February 2021
- LIVE Carols & Thorney Christmas Quiz via Zoom - December 2020
- Thorney Tales (20) A History of Parliament in Two Glimpses
- Refurbishment of 7 Millbank
- The Society's 34th AGM & Talk via Zoom - Tuesday 10th November
- The definitive book on the history of VTG ......
- A History of St James's Park through Trees, Talk by Greg Packman - October 2020
- Westminster Coroner's Court
- 10 Greycoat Place - Developer's Consultation
- St. James's and The Green Park Update and Movement Strategy - 10th July 2020
- Stephen Myers
- The Truth behind the National Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens
- Bearskins, Bayonets and Bravery - New Guards Museum podcast
- Victoria Tower Gardens - Judicial Review brought by the London Gardens Trust
- Two Africans with strong links to Thorney Island escaped slavery to become role models in London over 250 years ago
- Collecting fine bookbindings Zoom Talk - June 2020
- RUSI, The Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall
- London History Day, 31st May 2020 - 10 Old Pye Street
- Urban Tree Festival 2020 - Online
- Live Video of Feeding St James's Park Pelicans
- St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row
- Westminster Kingsway College
- Save Victoria Tower Gardens - Planning Inquiry 6th October - 13th November
- Thorney Tales (19) Revd James Palmer and Palmer's Village
- Workshop by Jens Jakobsen, Master Florist at the Blewcoat School - March 2020
- Consultation Begins - Southside, Victoria Street
- Ignatius Sancho, Short Talk by Victor Keegan - February 2020
- Christchurch Gardens Reconstruction Short Talk - January 2020
- Christmas Party 2019
- 55 Broadway - Planning application
- Richmond House, Whitehall - The Northern Parliamentary Estate
- 20mph Throughout Westminster ? YES !
- The Society's 33rd AGM, 12th November 2019
- Visit to the Palace of Westminster & Jewel Tower - October 2019
- Thorney Tales (18) The Buxton Memorial Fountain
- Mission: Invertebrate, The Green Park - August 2019
- Tour of Buckingham Palace Gardens - August 2019
- From Beer to the Bard - A Victoria Walk by Anthony Davis - July 2019
- Special Tour of Westminster Abbey - July 2019
- Gems of Thorney Island, A Walk by Victor Keegan - July 2019
- The Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks - Volunteers
- Victoria Tower Gardens, poem by Elizabeth Witts
- The Green Park Tree Walk - May 2019
- Visit to Bonhams Auctioneers - May 2019
- Visit to Westminster Cathedral - May 2019
- Visit to The Speakers House - April 2019
- Ann Carlton our Co-founder
- Thorney Tales (17) Westminster Coke and Gas Company
- Duck Island Volunteer Project
- Illuminated River
- Dolphin Square Redevelopment
- AGM 2018
- Centenary of Armistice Cenotaph Service and Exhibition in St James's Park
- Visit to The Queen's Jubilee Galleries, Westminster Abbey - September 2018
- Thorney Tales (16) College Hall, Westminster Abbey / School
- Relocation of Emmeline Pankhurst statue from Victoria Tower Gardens
- Visit to The Church House - August 2018
- "The Devil's Acre before Peabody" Talk - August 2018
- Visits to Westminster School - July 2018
- Purcell Musical Tour of Westminster Abbey - June 2018
- Reception to mark the opening of The Queen's Jubilee Galleries, Westminster Abbey - June 2018
- Proposals for Christchurch Gardens, Victoria Street - June 2018
- Thorney Island Sources Tour of Westminster Archives - June 2018
- Visit to the Institution of Civil Engineers - May 2018
- St James's Park Tree Walk - May 2018
- Unveiling of Millicent Fawcett Statue in Parliament Square - April 2018
- Visit to Watts & Co, Ecclesiastical Furnishers & Outfitters - April 2018
- Broadway & Carteret Street
- Thorney Tales (15) Henry Purcell's Birthplace
- AGM 2017 & Talk
- Townsend House, Greycoat Place
- Thorney Tales (14) Siegfried Sassoon
- Chelsea College of Art & Design Collaboration
- Introducing our New Chair
- Lambeth Bridge Roundabout
- Tour of St James the Less church in Pimlico - September 2017
- Local Tree Walk with Paul Akers, WCC Arboriculturalist - September 2017
- Visit to HM Treasury building - July 2017
- Thorney Tales (13) - Elizabeth Woodville
- Suffragist Millicent Fawcett - First women honoured in Parliament Square ?
- Visit to St Margaret's Church - July 2017
- Parks: Our Shared Heritage Exhibition - July/August 2017
- Consultation by WCC on Future Growth/Building Height
- Proposed memorial statue to Lady Margaret Thatcher in Parliament Square
- Thorney Tales (12) The Jerusalem Chamber
- 61-71 Victoria Street
- Vauxhall Bridge Road/Tachbrook St Draft Development Opportunity
- Visit to Tate Britain's Archives & Library, November 2016
- Thorney Tales (11) - The Abbey Garden
- St Andrew's Club - 150th Anniversary, October 2016
- June Stubbs 1927 - 2016
- Henry V's Chantry Chapel Visit, October 2016
- Thorney Tales (10) - Oliver Cromwell v Charles I
- The Victoria Tower Gardens & The National Holocaust Memorial & Learning Centre
- Old War Office, 57 Whitehall
- Our visit to Parliament's hidden medieval places, 28th July 2016
- Westminster Fire Station
- Thorney Tales (9) - Governor of Duck Island
- Thorney Tales (8) Westminster Opera House
- Fundraising Gala Dinner September 2016
- Fundraising Gala Dinner September 2016
- New Scotland Yard, 10 Broadway
- What is Thorney Island ?
- Millbank Tower grows taller
- Welcome
- Thorney Tales (7) - Storey's Gate
- Thorney Tales (6) - St Margaret's Church, the amazing history of a window
- Paddington Tower
- WCC say "No" (AGAIN!) to proposed sculpture outside Westminster Central Hall
- Objection to proposed cycle stands in Queen Anne's Gate
- A visit to the hidden archives of Westminster Abbey, 4th November 2015
- Visit to new Parliamentary Education Centre, 28th October 2015
- Thorney Tales (5) - Westminster Hall Roof
- Thorney Tales (4) - The tomb behind one of Britain's biggest fortunes
- Thorney Tales (3) - The Jewel Tower
- Visit to the RHS Lindley Library, 14th July 2015
- Thorney Tales (2) - The River Tyburn
- The Garden Bridge Controversy
- Visit to Bridgewater House
- Queen's Walk Cycle Route, The Green Park
- Thorney Tales (1) - Britain's Hidden Treasure Trove
- AGM 2016 & the Panorama of The Thames Project
- Annual Review 2014-15