Crossness Pumping Station

Crossness Pumping Station
Western exterior of the Crossness Pumping Station
LocationCrossness Sewage Treatment Works
London, SE2
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′33″N 0°08′18″E / 51.509142°N 0.138418°E / 51.509142; 0.138418
OS grid referenceTQ4849781080
Built1859–1865
ArchitectsCharles Henry Driver
Architectural style(s)Romanesque
OwnerThames Water
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated24 June 1970
Reference no.1064241
Location of Crossness Pumping Station in London Borough of Bexley

Crossness Pumping Station is a former sewage pumping station designed by the architect Charles Henry Driver for the Metropolitan Board of Works's chief engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. It is located at Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, at the eastern end of the Southern Outfall Sewer and the Ridgeway path in the London Borough of Bexley. Constructed between 1859 and 1865 by William Webster, as part of Bazalgette's redevelopment of the London sewerage system, it features spectacular ornamental cast ironwork, described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "a masterpiece of engineering – a Victorian cathedral of ironwork". It was decommissioned in 1956. Subsequently the building has been extensively restored and was opened to the public in 2016.

It is adjacent to Erith Marshes, a grazing marsh, the northern part of which is designated as Crossness Nature Reserve. This provides a valuable habitat for creatures ranging from moths to small amphibians and water voles.