![]() ![]() Electricity generation was originally a local activity with no national grid to distribute across the country. The original power station was built by the City of London Electric Lighting Company in 1891 and over the years underwent a number of extensions and upgrades to form the building with the two rows of chimneys as seen in may father’s photo.Įach chimney was connected to an individual boiler and a separate building contained the generator that was driven by the steam from the boilers to produce electricity for distribution in the local area and by cables across the river to the City. Both of these industries were located adjacent to the river as they both used coal to generate either electricity or gas. The following extract from the 1892 Ordnance Survey map shows towards the right of the map an Electric Lighting Works and on the left the Phoenix Gas Works. ![]() This area of Bankside has produced energy for many years before the current Bankside Power Station was built. The Millennium Bridge now crosses the river in front of the old Bankside Power Station building.Ī view from further along the river showing the full size of the former Bankside Power Station building. This is the original power station on the site. There is a smaller building on the left with two rows of chimneys receding from the river’s edge. In the photo, Bankside Power Station also looks only half built, which indeed it was. ![]() ![]() The photo suffers from a problem I often have when taking a photo of the southern bank of the river from the north on a clear day as the sun is in the south and puts the power station into silhouette. In 1953, soon after it started operation, my father took the photo below of Bankside Power Station. ![]()
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