Farewell To Central London’s Biggest Eyesore
Years ago, I wrote a silly but quite funny love letter to C. At least she told me it was funny. In it I mentioned Battersea Power Station and how it was used as a last line of defence, with platforms on the chimneys. That must have been about 1966 or so, and in those days the power station was still generating electricity as it did until 1983.
It has not been a lucky building since!
London’s Biggest Eyesore
Like many power stations of the era, it was built for a short life and a productive one. I remember going over Cliff Quay power station in Ipswich, and being told that these buildings were built in brick without the soundest of foundations. Often though, like Battersea and Cliff Quay, they were designed by good architects and often featured decorative features inside. Strangely, the one building of this type, we have left, Bankside power station, doesn’t have an elaborate interior, although now it is the superb Tate Modern. Although according to Wikipedia, that could have gone to Battersea.
Scott’s other London power station is at Battersea and is widely considered a more iconic design, with its four towers. Battersea Power Station was proposed for the Tate Modern but, due to financial constraints and less dilapidation, the smaller Bankside building was chosen.
Scott was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the designer of the red telephone box and the architect of Liverpool Cathedral. So perhaps it s fitting that one of his more utilitarian buildings is a home for modern art and design.
Does anybody know if there are any good examples of reusing power stations buildings around the world?
I can find two; one called The Power Plant in Toronto, Canada and another called The Power Station of Art in Shanghai.
But Battersea Power Station has not been served well by fate. It is almost falling down these days and I do wonder if it can be rebuilt economically. It seems to have disastrous affects on its developers.
But at least with George Osborne’s announcement of funding for the Northern Line Extension in the Autumn Statement, its days as an eyesore may well be numbered. But don’t uncross your fingers!
The Anonymous Widower 
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