Millbank: From Penitentiary to Palace of Art
London, United Kingdom
Millbank is a short stretch of the Thames whose story runs from punishment to inspiration. Turner sketched this bend of the river long before photography, and the site later held the vast Millbank Penitentiary, a damp star-shaped prison that was eventually demolished. In its place Henry Tate built a gallery of British art, now home to Turner’s paintings, while nearby Pimlico grew with Thomas Cubitt’s stuccoed squares and Gothic church.
The stops
- 01 Millbank Millennium Pier
Millbank Millennium Pier is a Thames river boat terminal on the Millbank Embankment, opened in 2003 as part of the Thames Clipper network.
- 02 Millbank Prison
Millbank Prison or Millbank Penitentiary was a prison in Millbank, Westminster, London, originally constructed as the National Penitentiary, and which for part of its history served as a holding facility for convicted prisoners before they…
- 03 Vauxhall Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge is a five-span steel arch bridge carrying the A202 road across the Thames between Pimlico on the north bank and Vauxhall on the south.
- 04 River Cut Tide
A monument to a celebrated British actress, adding cultural and theatrical history to the Pimlico area.
- 05 Pimlico Gardens
Pimlico Gardens is a small public garden on the north bank of the Thames at the southern end of St George's Square, occupying a site on the Grosvenor Road embankment.
- 06 St Saviour's, Pimlico
St Saviour's is an Anglo-Catholic church in Pimlico, City of Westminster, London, England, located at the north end of St George's Square.
- 07 Harry Mallin
A monument to a boxer, representing local sporting history.
- 08 Millbank
Millbank is the road running along the north bank of the Thames between Vauxhall Bridge and Lambeth Bridge, taking its name from the medieval mill that stood on the bank of the River Tyburn where it met the Thames.
- 09 Tate Britain
Tate Britain is the national gallery of British art, housed in a neoclassical building on Millbank opened in 1897.
The narration at every stop is in the app — this is the map of where it takes you, with a line on each stop.
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Walk Millbank: From Penitentiary to Palace of Art with a voice in your ear.
Download Odyssey Guide on iPhone to start this walk.
Download on the App StoreiPhone · iOS 16 and later