Crossness: “The Cathedral on the Marshes”
On 10th September, we experienced the glory and genius of the Victorian Age with a guided tour of Crossness Pumping Station, a former sewage pumping station designed by the Metropolitan Board of Works’s chief engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette and architect Charles Henry Driver, as 34 Plumbers and their guests stepped back into the Victorian era and were treated to an interesting and informative tour.
Crossness Pumping Station is located at Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, at the eastern end of the Southern Outfall Sewer and the Ridgeway path in the London Borough of Bexley.
Constructed between 1859 and 1865 by William Webster, as part of Bazalgette’s redevelopment of the London sewerage system, it features spectacular ornamental cast ironwork, that Nikolaus Pevsner described as “a masterpiece of engineering – a Victorian cathedral of ironwork”.
The pumping station is situated on part of an extensive Thames Water site near Abbey Wood, adjacent to the Thames.
On arrival we climbed about a short narrow gauge railway to take us from the entrance to the main buildings.
After tea and coffee, and some words of introduction and welcome from Master David Adams, we had a very informative talk by Mike Jones, Chair of the Trustees on the background to developing the London sewer system; the Great Stink; the New Thames Tideway Tunnel; and about Crossness Engines Trust.
We then donned hard hats and safety glasses for a fully guided tour of the site, with a particular focus on the engine room house 4 massive beam pumping engines.
One of the engines, Albert, has been fully restored and steams on a regular basis. We learned about the significant amount of skilled work and hard graft that goes into the restoration and maintenance of the vast enterprise.
Following the tour we enjoyed a buffet lunch and glass of wine, a tour of the exhibition; a visit to the obligatory gift shop; and made our way home – happily reflecting on how we are all now sewage experts!
Steward Kevin Thomas