Battersea Power Station - 'flaming altar of the modern temple of power'

Ten facts:

- Battersea Power Station is one of the largest brick buildings
in Europe with a footprint of just over 6 acres. (Equivalent
to three and a half football pitches). The Power Station was
listed Grade 2 in 1980 and upgraded to 2* in 2007.

- Construction of the steel frame commenced in 1929 with
Battersea A completed in 1935 and Battersea B, despite
the war, coming into service in 1944 with the fourth
chimney completed in 1955.

- Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, architect of Bankside power station
(Tate Modern) and the red telephone box was appointed
architect of Battersea Power Station in 1930. The steel
frame was enveloped in a brick skin and the chimneys pre-
cast in concrete. The interior of Turbine Hall A panelled with
Italian marble and, despite the war-time shortage, stainless
steel was used for Battersea B Auxiliary Control Room.

- In 1940 RAF pilots used the plumes of white vapour from the
chimneys to guide them home in the mist and with invasion
imminent, The Bank of England burnt large consignments
of bank notes in the Power Station furnaces.

- At its height the total generating capacity was 509MW.
Battersea was now producing a fifth of London's power,
(equivalent to half the output of a modern nuclear power
plant) belching out 500 tonnes of CO2 per hour. The station
pioneered a gas washing process to reduce sulphur
emissions (still at 14 tonnes phr) and excess heat generated
was ducted under the Thames in a district heating scheme
for 11,000 homes to the Churchill Gardens Estate in Pimlico.

- It has been described as a London landmark to rival St Paul's
Cathedral, 'the flaming altar of the modern temple of
power' (Daily Herald) and considered at the cutting edge
of power generation.

- A fire at the power station on April 20, 1964 caused power
failures throughout London and as a result delayed the
launch of BBC2 until the following day.

- Battersea A ceased generation, after 42 years production,
in 1975 with Battersea B ceasing operation in 1983, a quarter
of a century ago.

- An image of the power station, with an inflatable pink pig
flying overhead, famously appeared on the cover of the
1977 Pink Floyd Animals album. Chaos ensued when the pig
broke free and flew into the Heathrow flight path.

- The Power Station appeared in the 1964 Beatles' film Help!
and Sir Ian McKellen's film of Shakespeare's Richard III.

The above text was sourced from here:

www.battersea-powerstation.com/