Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
Coordinates: 51°30′24″N 0°3′9″W / 51.50667°N 0.05250°W
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The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station (built 1890) was originally run by the London Hydraulic Power Company in Wapping, London, England. Originally it operated using steam, and was later converted to use electricity. It was used to power machinery, including lifts, across London. The Tower Subway was used to transfer the power, and steam, to districts south of the river.
The surviving complex consists of the engine house, boiler house, water tank, accumulator tower, reservoir, foreman's house, seven 1950s throw ram pumps, a 1950s pilot accumulator, two cranes, two transformers and switchgear.
After its closure as a pumping station in 1977, the building was converted and reopened by Jules Wright as an arts centre (the Wapping Project) and restaurant (Wapping Food). Exhibitions are held in the basement and the main ground floor hall houses the restaurant. Some of the original equipment is still in place. The building was designated a grade II* listed building in December 1977.[1]
In 2013, the building was sold to developers Real Estate Ltd and the arts space will close on 22 December.[2]
On the opposite side of the road, Wapping Wall, is a notable public house, the The Prospect of Whitby, on the northern bank of the River Thames.
References
- ↑ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (206335)". Images of England. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ↑ Rowan Moore (30 November 2013). "The Wapping Project: our obsession with house prices will turn our cities into cultural deserts". The Observer.
External links
- London Hydraulic Power - A look at the system in 1936
- Subterranea Britannica
- Photos of the Wapping Project
- The Wapping Project
- Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society
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