Abbey Mills Pumping Station
Abbey Lane, London, is a sewage pumping station, designed by engineer Joseph Bazalgette, Edmund Cooper, and architect Charles Driver. It was built between 1865 and 1868.
Three lines of sewers on the north side of the Thames converge and unite at Abbey Mills, where the contents of the low level line were pumped into the upper level, flowing onto the northern outfall sewer carried on a concrete embankment across the marshes to Barking Creek.
The engine house was "in the form of a cross, two engines being located in each arm side by side, the cylinders being all disposed centrally with the large air vessel on the mains within the group." The drawings from which the engravings were made were "courteously placed at The Engineer's disposal by Mr. Bazalgette.
1913 'New Engine-House at Abbey Mills Pumping Station.— On Thursday, May 29, the new engine-house at Abbey Mills Main-Drainage Pumping-Station, Bow-road, was opened .... The new engine-house is 180 ft. long by 42 ft. wide, and contains seven centrifugal pumps, with suction and delivery-pipes of 38-in. diameter, capable of dealing with a total of 700 tons of sewage per minute. The centrifugal pumps are each driven by a vertical gas-engine, having four cylinders, and using town gas. The engines and pumps are direct-coupled. The engines were made by the Premier Gas-Engine Company, Limited, Sandiacre, Nottingham, and have cylinders 21 in. in diameter and a stroke of 24 in. They develop 475 brake horse-power at about 160 revoutions per minute. .... Gas has been chosen rather than steam because of the necessity for working the plant at very short notice in case a sudden rain-storm occurs, for the station has been put down mainly for dealing with storm water. The engines are started with compressed air at 200 lb. pressure per sq. in., supplied from two compressors driven by separate steam-engines. .... The work was designed and commenced by the late Chief Engineer of the Council, Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, C.M.G., M. Inst. C.E., and was completed by the present Chief Engineer, Mr. G. W. Humphreys,
M. Inst. C.E.'[1]