Dean Nicholas

The History Of London's Power Stations

The recent news that Battersea Power Station is once again up for sale will be of little surprise to long-time watchers of the crumbling riverside building. Since closure in 1983 numerous plans for its redevelopment have been floated, only to be dashed (see the Guardian's gallery for some examples). The most recent proposal, approved 2010, stalled in January when the group behind it went bust.

Battersea's plight is particularly sad given that a little way to the east stands Bankside, another former power station (built by the same architect, Giles Gilbert Scott) that has been successfully redeveloped into Tate Modern, among the most popular art galleries in the world. Tate's success suggests that there is (or should have been) a path toward post-power success for Battersea, had the right decisions been taken. The fear is that it may now be too late.

The fate of Battersea got us wondering about London's other disused power stations. Click through the gallery above for a look at some of the stations we've lost, and a handful that have survived and prospered.

For more on the early history of London's electricity generation, see this blog post by Ian Visits.

Photo credits:

Battersea Power Station by curry15 via the Londonist Flickrpool

Tate Modern by Eva Palazzetti via the Londonist Flickrpool



Greenwich Power Station by scappini via the Londonist Flickrpool

Acton Lane Power Station by ca1951rr under Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0

Brunswick Wharf by Ian M under Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0

Lots Road by Arpingstone under Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0

Croydon Power Station by Peter Trimming under Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0

Brown Hart Gardens by Johnathan Wakefield under Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0