Abbey Mills Pumping Station
Abbey Mills Pumping Station is a sewage pumping station in Mill Meads, East London, operated by Thames Water. The pumping station lifts sewage from the London sewerage system into the Northern Outfall Sewer and the Lee Tunnel, which both run to Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.
| Abbey Mills Pumping Station | |
|---|---|
The main building in 2022 | |
Location in London Borough of Newham | |
| Alternative names | "The Cathedral of Sewage" |
| General information | |
| Status | in use |
| Type | pumping station |
| Architectural style | Italian Gothic |
| Address | Abbey Lane, Mill Meads |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51.5307°N 0.000835°W |
| Construction started | 1865 |
| Completed | 1868 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Charles Driver, Edmund Cooper |
| Engineer | Joseph Bazalgette |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 6 November 1974 |
| Reference no. | 1190476 |
The original pumping station, designed by engineer Joseph Bazalgette, Edmund Cooper, and architect Charles Driver, was built between 1865 and 1868, housing eight beam engines by Rothwell & Co. of Bolton. Two engines on each arm of a cruciform plan, with an elaborate Byzantine style, described as The Cathedral of Sewage. Another of Bazalgette's designs, Crossness Pumping Station, is located south of the River Thames at Crossness, at the end of the Southern Outfall Sewer.
A modern sewage pumping station (Station F) was completed in 1997 about 200 metres (660 ft) south of the original station.