Crossness Pumping Station
A Victorian sewage pumping station on the Thames at Abbey Wood, part of Joseph Bazalgette's 19th-century London sewer system, restored around its ornate cast-iron Beam Engine House.
- Hidden gem
- Price: ££ · Mid-range
Open in A Reason to StopFree on the App Store. iPhone, iOS 26 or later.
Did you know
The building's cast-iron interior is decorated with elaborate Victorian ironwork so ornate it's sometimes nicknamed 'the cathedral of sewage,' a decorative flourish added to what was, functionally, a piece of industrial waste infrastructure built for Bazalgette's sewer network in the 1860s.
Local tip
It's only open on scheduled Open Days and guided tours, not as a regular walk-in attraction, so check the calendar on crossness.org.uk and book ahead, since popular steaming days sell out.
Finding it
- Address
- Bazalgette Way, Lower Belvedere, London Borough of Bexley, Greater London, England, SE2 9AQ
- Nearest station
- Barking Riverside (Overground), 1924 m away
Details change, so check with the place before you set off.
More places in London
- Lesnes Abbey Ruins and WoodsThe flint-and-rubble ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian abbey on the hill above Abbey Wood, set in woods and parkland.
- MaandeeqA Somali and Tanzanian restaurant on Anglesea Road in Woolwich serving beef suqaar, chipsi maya (chips mixed with egg) and big sharing platters of meat with rice, pasta or ugali.
- Valence House MuseumA partly moated manor house in Dagenham, now a free local museum with displays on the area's past, a tearoom and walled gardens. It is the only survivor of Dagenham's five manor houses.
- Woolwich FerryA free vehicle and pedestrian ferry across the Thames between Woolwich and North Woolwich, and a rare chance to cross the river by boat without paying.