Battersea
Power Station has fascinated me for many years. That big hulk of a building,
just sitting there rotting away. I’m not alone of course. It’s a real London
icon, and most Londoners are familiar with its story since closure in 1983: Pink
Floyd. Failed redevelopment. Occasionally used for over-priced events.
I’ve always had a burning desire to get inside, so when it was time to start working on my latest book, and when it became obvious that Battersea Power Station would be a running theme, it was the perfect excuse to try.
Being too chicken to take the urban explorer route I instead made a few calls and managed to get myself a private tour. This was last year, but I wanted to wait until the book was published before I posted some of the photos I took.
First a brief history. Construction started in 1929, built by the London Power Company, who at the time was the most important player in the city’s electrical supply industry. It was built as two separate buildings, although the plan was always for it to eventually form one entity.
The
exterior was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott. His other work included the
famous red telephone box, and he would also later design Bankside Power
Station, which today is home to the Tate Modern.
The first building, Battersea A, was completed in 1933. Battersea B was finished in 1955, finally giving the combined power station it’s four soon-to-be-iconic chimneys. It closed as part of a decline in coal fired power stations but was saved from demolition. Over the years there have been several botched attempts to redevelop the building. It has also appeared on various TV shows, films and album covers, giving it something of a cult status. Work is currently underway on a brand new residential and commercial redevelopment.
To get up close and personal with a building I had seen so many photos of was incredible. It’s even more imposing when you are standing right next to it. The shell of the building isn’t in bad shape, but inside lots of damage has been done since the roof was removed in the late 1980s as part of a failed bid to turn it into a theme park.
Much of the inner workings of the building are still intact though, including two beautiful control rooms with various dials, levers and other equipment still in situ.
The
tour included being taken up in a lift to the base of one of the four iconic
chimneys. It’s not considered to be one of London’s tallest buildings but it’s
higher than it looks, and the view was incredible. It also allowed me to see
inside the building through what was once the roof. It’s apparent from
here just how much damage there is inside, and the scale of the redevelopment
work ahead.
Battersea
Power Station and Bankside Power Station are both included in London’s Lost
Power Stations and Gasworks out now.
Songstress Eliza Doolittle also recently went on a similar trip and was filmed doing it. Here’s the short film, showing the same sites I saw on my tour. Hat tip for the video goes to Obsessed with London. Note that tours are not available to the general public, and the building is now strictly off limits because of the redevelopment work.
