Find thousands of books, manuscripts, visual materials and unpublished archives from our collections, many of them with free online access.
Search for free, downloadable images taken from our library and museum collections, including paintings, illustrations, photos and more.
Invitation to the opening of Crossness Pumping Station, Lond
- Science Museum, London
- Digital Images
- Online
Available online
Licence
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
You can use this work for any purpose, including commercial uses, without restriction under copyright law. You should also provide attribution to the original work, source and licence.
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) terms and conditions https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Credit: Invitation to the opening of Crossness Pumping Station, Lond. Science Museum, London. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Selected images from this work
View 1 imageAbout this work
Description
The pumping station at Crossness was part of a larger plan to divert sewage away from the River Thames, which had become heavily polluted and was regarded as a major public health problem. It was one of four pumping stations built for this purpose. Central to the overall plan was the 82 miles of main drainage sewers constructed underneath the streets of London. The opening of Crossness was a prestigious affair with many guests of honour, including the Prince of Wales. It was seen as a reflection of the engineering skills of the United Kingdom.
Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (1819-91) was the chief public health engineer on the project, which was run by the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW). The MBW was formed in 1855 as the principal local government for London after the Great Stink of the River Thames made life unbearable.
lithographer: Kell Brothers
Place made: London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom