Not an infiltration
I went for a meeting and while my boss was talking to the client I talked to our guide and got a vague invite to “come back sometime to take some photosâ€.
A lot of phone calls, emails and 8 months later, the day arrived.
I was completely awe struck by being there so my images aren’t as good as they should be.
Visited with 1 daughter, 2 brothers, 3 nephews and the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide you could imagine. If you read this, thanks again.
Short history
Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Battersea Power Station was built in two stages.
Battersea A was finished in1933, with Battersea B coming on line in 1953.
The two stations were built to an identical / mirrored design, providing the well known four-chimney layout.
At it’s peak in 1953 it produced around 509MW making it the third largest in the UK at the time.
This was a fifth of London’s electricity, with 28 other London stations producing the rest.
By the 1970s the station's output was falling.
This, coupled with increased operating costs, such as flue gas cleaning, led to Battersea's demise.
On 17 March 1975, the A Station was closed after being in operation for 42 years.
By this time the A Station was co-firing oil and its generating capacity had reduced to 228 MW.
Three years after the closure of the A Station, rumours began to circulate that the B Station would soon follow.
A campaign was then launched to try to save the building as part of the national heritage.
As a result the station was declared a heritage site in 1980, when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, awarded the building Grade II listed status.
(This was upgraded to Grade II* listed in 2007.)
On 31 October 1983 production of electricity at Station B also ended, after nearly 30 years of operation.
By then the B Station's generating capacity had fallen to 146 MW.
The closure of the two stations was put down largely to the generating equipment becoming out-dated, and the
preferred choice of fuel for electricity generation shifting from coal toward oil, gas and nuclear power.
Since the station's closure the site has remained largely unused, with numerous failed redevelopment plans from successive site owners.
In July 2012, the power station was sold to a consortium led by Malaysia’s SP Setia for £400 million.
In January 2013 the first residential apartments went on sale. (I’m told they have now all been sold “off planâ€)
An initial £100 million will go towards rebuilding the four chimneys and repairs to the brick-work and windows.
Buro Happold, which has extensive knowledge of the site, is to advise on structural repairs for the property development, which will be managed by Turner & Townsend.
The Battersea Power Station Development Company will now finalise plans for the interior of the building, for which it has recruited Wilkinson Eyre.
Turbine hall B
Archive pic. Turbine hall B – Christmas day 196?
Control room B
No idea what this is.
This area gets used quite a lot for music videos and fashion shoots.
For a fee, you, your entourage and any hangers-on you bring get to film and photograph anywhere you like.
Except the white room.
Director’s lobby and lift, A side
Control room A
Parquet flooring
Archive pic from Christmas day 196?
Archive pic: One of the mechanical stokers being built– one of the largest in the world at the time.
Finally coal cranes in the rain.
Thanks for looking.
I went for a meeting and while my boss was talking to the client I talked to our guide and got a vague invite to “come back sometime to take some photosâ€.
A lot of phone calls, emails and 8 months later, the day arrived.
I was completely awe struck by being there so my images aren’t as good as they should be.
Visited with 1 daughter, 2 brothers, 3 nephews and the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide you could imagine. If you read this, thanks again.
Short history
Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Battersea Power Station was built in two stages.
Battersea A was finished in1933, with Battersea B coming on line in 1953.
The two stations were built to an identical / mirrored design, providing the well known four-chimney layout.
At it’s peak in 1953 it produced around 509MW making it the third largest in the UK at the time.
This was a fifth of London’s electricity, with 28 other London stations producing the rest.
By the 1970s the station's output was falling.
This, coupled with increased operating costs, such as flue gas cleaning, led to Battersea's demise.
On 17 March 1975, the A Station was closed after being in operation for 42 years.
By this time the A Station was co-firing oil and its generating capacity had reduced to 228 MW.
Three years after the closure of the A Station, rumours began to circulate that the B Station would soon follow.
A campaign was then launched to try to save the building as part of the national heritage.
As a result the station was declared a heritage site in 1980, when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, awarded the building Grade II listed status.
(This was upgraded to Grade II* listed in 2007.)
On 31 October 1983 production of electricity at Station B also ended, after nearly 30 years of operation.
By then the B Station's generating capacity had fallen to 146 MW.
The closure of the two stations was put down largely to the generating equipment becoming out-dated, and the
preferred choice of fuel for electricity generation shifting from coal toward oil, gas and nuclear power.
Since the station's closure the site has remained largely unused, with numerous failed redevelopment plans from successive site owners.
In July 2012, the power station was sold to a consortium led by Malaysia’s SP Setia for £400 million.
In January 2013 the first residential apartments went on sale. (I’m told they have now all been sold “off planâ€)
An initial £100 million will go towards rebuilding the four chimneys and repairs to the brick-work and windows.
Buro Happold, which has extensive knowledge of the site, is to advise on structural repairs for the property development, which will be managed by Turner & Townsend.
The Battersea Power Station Development Company will now finalise plans for the interior of the building, for which it has recruited Wilkinson Eyre.
Turbine hall B
Archive pic. Turbine hall B – Christmas day 196?
Control room B
No idea what this is.
This area gets used quite a lot for music videos and fashion shoots.
For a fee, you, your entourage and any hangers-on you bring get to film and photograph anywhere you like.
Except the white room.
Director’s lobby and lift, A side
Control room A
Parquet flooring
Archive pic from Christmas day 196?
Archive pic: One of the mechanical stokers being built– one of the largest in the world at the time.
Finally coal cranes in the rain.
Thanks for looking.
