The Thames Embankment and Somerset House, London, c1915. First built for Lord Protector Somerset in 1547-1550, Somerset House was the first Renaissance palace in England. It was substantially rebuilt to designs by Sir William Chambers in the late 18th century, at which time the Thames flowed up to the palace's frontage. Somerset House was the home of many royal societies in the 18th and 19th centuries. From 1836-1973 it housed the offices of the General Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The Embankment was designed by the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette to accommodate his new sewer system and to provide a thoroughfare alongside the River Thames. Postcard.