Western Pumping Station

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Grosvenor Bridge and Western Pumping Station
Grosvenor Road, Chelsea
London, May 2023

“In 1825 Lord Grosvenor built a canal on the site of the channel dug by the waterworks to carry goods to and from Belgravia, which was then being developed. In the mid 19th century the Metropolis Water Act prohibited the extraction of water for household purposes from the tidal Thames and the company moved to Surbiton in 1856. The vacated site was used by the railway companies to build lines into west London and London Victoria Station was built on the site of the Grosvenor Canal basin which originally contained coal, stone, and timber wharfs. A remaining waterworks building, known as the Western Pumping Station still remains beside the site of the canal and its chimney is something of a landmark in the area. However, the chimney now acts as a ventilation shaft for sewers rather than its original purpose of being the chimney for boilers.” (The Grosvenor Canal, London's Lost Rivers)