Abbey Mills Pumping Station







Abbey Mills Pumping Station

This week I attended a official guided tour of Abbey Mills Pumping Station, this was arranged by Kent Underground Research Group and the owners of the property Thames Water. I have to say I have no real interest in underground but I have seen images of the inside of this property and was very keen to tag along when the offer came around.

From Wikipedia,

             

Coordinates: 51°31′51″N 0°00′03″W / 51.5307°N 0.000835°W / 51.5307; -0.000835

 

The original Abbey Mills Pumping Station, in Abbey Lane, London E15, is a sewage pumping station, designed by engineer Joseph Bazalgette, Edmund Cooper, and architect Charles Driver. It was built between 1865 and 1868. It was designed in 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.

History

The pumping station was built at the site of an earlier watermill owned by the local Abbey, from which it gained its name^[

Purpose

 

The pumps raised the sewage in the London sewerage system between the two Low Level Sewers and the Northern Outfall Sewer, which was built in the 1860s to carry the increasing amount of sewage produced in London away from the centre of the city.

Two Moorish styled chimneys – unused since steam power had been replaced by electric motors in 1933 – were demolished in 1941, as it was feared that a bomb strike from German bombs might topple them on to the pumping station.

The building still houses electric pumps – to be used in reserve for the new facility next door.

The main building is grade II* listed and there are many grade II listed ancillary buildings, including the stumps of the demolished chimneys



This usually is part of the London Open House Weekend every September so if you get a change it is possible to get a free look around. This year it is September the 21st and 22nd. Apply for your guide to visit loads of properties not usually accessible to the public





Abbey Mills Pumping Station Roof





Doorway to "A" Station Abbey Mills





Upper Level Abbey Mills





Inside Abby Mills



Old Machinery Abbey Mills

Abbey Mills Dalek

Abbey Mills Roof Mono

Upper Level Abbey Mills 32bit

London Underground



Gants Hill Tube Station London

Took my 5D mkiii to London yesterday for the first time since I have owned it. The weather has been nothing less than depressing all year so far so not exactly great for photography. However London underground is always a place of architectural beauty all year round, as this shot of a Art deco style underground station shows very well. This is Gants Hill, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It is served by the Central Line and is in Zone 4. It is the easternmost station to be entirely below ground on the London Underground network.

Construction originally began in the 1930s but was suspended during the Second World War. During the war, the station was used as an air raid shelter and the tunnels as a munitions factory for Plessey electronics. The station was finally completed and opened on 14 December 1947. During planning, the names "Ilford North" and "Cranbrook" were considered.

The station, like many others on the same branch, was designed by notable Tube architect Charles Holden; during the planning period London Underground Holden advised on the construction of the new Moscow Metro, which is why the barrel-vaulted halls of Gants Hill echo many stations on the Russian capital's system.

The station is located beneath Gants Hill roundabout, and reached via the pedestrian subway under the roundabout. There are three escalators from the ticket office to the platforms

Thanks to Wikipedia for the info.

This also gave me a chance to test out the much talked about high ISO performance of the camera. The shot above for instance was shot at ISO 3200 F/8.0 1/50th sec. While there was a little noise in the image it did not destroy it and was easily fixed in Lightroom for a perfectly useable image. This high iso capability is great for low light situations such as the underground where you are not allowed to use a tripod, officially!

This was the first time in a long time I had been to London with my camera but without a tripod, and it made a pleasant change not to have to carry that beast around all day. Its even made me consider purchasing the Joby Gorillapod slr and ball head as a option to keep in my bag for days when I do need a tripod for outdoor work. So if anyone has used one of these would like to hear your thoughts on how practical they are in a real world situation.

With the shots I did take yesterday I have been pleased with the results and look forward to sharing more of the images as I process them.

Check out my new website has been redesigned to go supersized !

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