The completion of the Chelsea Embankment in 1874 changed the social and physical landscape of Cheyne Walk and contributed to the displacement of London’s poor. By shoring up the banks with fortified granite-faced walls, Chelsea gained additional acreage and space for new buildings. The walls along the river also prevented flooding, eased traffic congestion on the roads by creating a new riverside thoroughfare, and improved river navigation by eliminating mudflats on the shore.
