A walk around the former Battersea Power Station from the nearby Tube station.
Construction of the coal fired Battersea Power Station began in 1929. To appease concerns about building a power station so close to the centre of London a grand building with Sir Gilles Giblert Scott as one of its architects was designed.
The power station was constructed in two halves, Battersea A being complete by 1935 and Battersea B started in 1937 but not completed until 1955 due to the war. Externally the two stations were mirror images of each other with the boiler houses in the middle and turbine halls A and B at either side. Prior to the construction of the B power station a temporary metal partition was constructed along what would become the middle of the building.
Below - Picture from Wikipedia of Battersea A Power Station (By Andy Dingley (scanner) - Scan from Foreword by E. Royston Pike (1938) Our Generation, London: Waverley Book Company, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11670538)
The A station closed in 1975 and the B station in 1983. The site was out of use for many years but was granted listed status. Several proposals came and went including a theme park, football stadium and having a modern tower block sprouting from the brick walls. In the end it opened to the public in 2022 as a development of shops, bars and restaurants, offices and apartments. More about the power station can be found on the Wikipedia article. The redevelopment extends to areas around the former power station. To coincide with the redevelopment the Bakerloo Line of the London Underground was extended to Battersea Power Station station. I took the tube to this new station and explored the site on foot.
Below - Battersea Power Station station with the power station and surrounding redevelopment in the background.
Below - Two of the four chimneys seen from the south entrance to the complex. The boiler house was in the huge building between the chimneys, apartments and offices have been constructed in this space.
Below - The elaborate brickwork is not confined to the facades, it is used throughout the building.
Below - The former coal wharf on which coal arrived by barge from Newcastle. The two cranes that unloaded the coal survived in to recent years but the area is now an outdoor seating area.
Below - Turbine Hall A. Behind the windows on the upper floor is the former Control Room A
Below - Turbine Hall A. The overhead cranes used for installation and maintenance of the turbines have been retained. Even in the interior that wouldn't have been seen by the public is ornate with similar Art Deco styling to the exterior.
Below - A piece of switchgear displayed at the north entrance to the site. Next to this a display space had an exhibition about the various plans drawn up for the site in its years of dereliction.
Below - Turbine Hall B. Build during and after the war, the interior of this part of the complex has a much more austere design.
Below - Control Room B is now a bar with the preserved control panels retained around the back of what is now the seating area.
It is possible to ascend one of the chimneys in a glass elevator for excellent views at the top, though this was quite a busy attraction and I decided to stick to just walking round the site.
More information about the complex established in the former power station can be found in their website.
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