Crossness Pumping Station
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Crossness Pumping Station was a sewage pumping station designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. It was constructed between 1859 and 1865 as part of his redevelopment of the London sewerage system. It is located at Crossness, at the eastern end of the Southern Outfall Sewer.
The Crossness Pumping Station was officially opened by the Prince of Wales in April 1865 and the Beam Engine House is now a Grade I Listed building featuring spectacular ornamental cast ironwork – it has been described as "A masterpiece of engineering – a Victorian cathedral of ironwork" by Nikolaus Pevsner.
The station contains the four original pumping engines, which are thought to be the largest remaining rotative beam engines in the world, with 52 ton flywheels and 47 ton beams.
The sewage was pumped up into a reservoir which contained 27 million gallons, and was released into the Thames at high tide.
Today the pumping station is managed by the Crossness Engines Trust, a registered charity. Some of the adjoining grazing marsh provides a valuable habitat for creatures ranging from moths to small amphibians and water voles.
[edit] See also
- Abbey Mills Pumping Stations - the equivalent pumping station for the Northern Outfall Sewer
[edit] External links
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