Description

SOUTHWARK

TQ3574NW CHELTENHAM ROAD
636-1/62/203 Honor Oak Pumping Station

GV II

Deep well pumping station. 1902-1905. By JW Restler. For the
Southwark and Vauxhall Water Company, taken over by the
Metropolitan Water Board, which completed the project.
Holloway Bros of Lambeth, builder. Italianate style.
MATERIALS: red brick structure with yellow facing bricks;
dressings of York stone; arches in gauged Burham bricks. Roof
covered in slate and supported by steel trusses and framing
that over the boiler house 4-span; that over the engine house,
which projects, transept fashion, beyond boiler house, of one
span.
PLAN: engine Square tower to south-west of engine house.
EXTERIOR: one or two storeys; 8 bays to main elevation.
Central 2 storey feature with 2 round-headed windows with
keystone and impost blocks, flanked by pilasters and with
stone balustrading above. Mansard roof with cast iron
cresting. Projecting porch with round-headed doorcase with
keystone and impost blocks. This is flanked by one storey
wings with three round-headed windows under stone balustrading
with hipped roof with cast iron cresting. Set back two storey
wing with similar windows behind. To the north a
single-storey, 2 span utility extension.
INTERIOR: not inspected.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the first deep wells were contemplated in the
late C19, supplanting collection pools and rivers. This
Southwark and Vauxhall Company was an amalgamation of earlier
companies and formed in 1845. A reservoir was erected at
Hampton after 1852, having moved from Kennington. In 1871 work
began on four covered reservoirs at Nunhead, whose elevated
position enabled the company to provide pressurised service to
the area's inhabitants. With the expansion of London in the
late C19, it was soon realised that conventional collection
systems could not supply the growing population of the
south-east. It was discovered that there was sufficient, pure
ground water trapped in chalk, protected by a layer of clay.
The company exploited the presence of clay on the site by
setting up a large brick kiln, brickmaking machinery and a
brick dryer. Between 1898 and 1900 more than 19,000,000 bricks
were made for use in the company's works projects.
The first well was bored in 1901. It was approx 4m (11 feet)
in diameter and approx 91m (300 feet) deep. Tenders were

accepted in July 1902 for the construction of this pumping
station. The builder Holloway Bros. of Belvedere Road, Lambeth
was awarded the tender. The massive covered reservoir, which
is not included in this designation, was completed in 1909.

Listing NGR: TQ3533574845

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26658882

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990