It was on the afternoon of Thursday, 7th of August 2008 that I bought a copy of the London Evening Standard. Amongst the usual news, sport, views, features, occasional pictures of Gilmour or Mason at a social gathering and other detritus which goes to make up the capital's favourite evening newspaper with 'standard' in the name, on page 16 was an advertisment which seemed *far* too good to be true. Battersea Power Station was open throughout the weekends of August, and open to all.
Should I? Shouldn't I? Why? Why not? Fuck it, I will - and I did. I took a photographer with a much better camera than mine along with me too. Are you ready?
Like the gates to Willy Wonka's
chocolate factory at midday, they're finally open and we can go in.
Security's still standing by, just in case we try something....
It's getting closer....and bigger (I mean the power station, not that woman's hair).
g closer.....and bigger.....
It's getting closer....and bigger (I mean the power station, not that woman's hair).
g closer.....and bigger.....
But before the main attraction, how
about some meters, dials and gauges salvaged from the control rooms?
Or even a bloody great model of the surrounding neighbourhood and what they want to try and turn the site into?
Consultation period over (the jury's still out), and disclaimer signed to the effect that if we get twatted by falling masonry we won't sue, and we're off! So in the background, the old. In the foreground, the new: an artist's impression of what'll be where we're standing if things go to plan.
Following the path that was kindly set out for us (with dire warnings of punishment should we deviate from it), we turn the corner and begin the final approach. It's about now it begins to dawn on just how HUGE is is....
Obvious really, but it just gets bigger and bigger the closer you get. Luckily the sun was well placed on the towers to give that old gold colour on the brickwork, just like you get on the 'Animals' cover.....
So just how close *will* they let us get? Going by the scaffolding propping the side up and halfway up the chimney stacks, no wonder they got us to sign away any responsibilty. I can only assume the wing on the right was office/admin space, not to mention where at least some of the actual control rooms for the turbines and boilers must have lived. Might be wrong though, as they never let us see them....
Nice of them to tell us with approximately half a mile already walked, eh? Obviously they're banking on physical exhaustion killing us, not burial under thousands of tons of rubble or asphixiation on clouds of brick dust. Even with such helpful notices as these, there were still females of the species tottering around in heels, clogs and wedges. Personally I'd have liked to have seen someone turn up on stilts, but it didn't happen.
No, I'm sorry. Surely that's TOO close for a building commonly believed to be in peril? No? Oh well.
This initially looked promising in terms of unseen bits. Then we realised it wasn't, unless pitch-black voids had suddenly become wildly interesting.
So we had to content ourselves with moving around the south towers, until we could see right through to the other side. At least the clouds parted for us, eh?
The situation at the base of the towers is dimmer. Rubble, weeds, plants, smashed windows, mould, moss, lichen....dereliction, basically. But we knew that already, didn't we? Perhaps you just didn't want to see it like this....
Halfway up, things are better. Sort of. The windows are a bit of a state, and there's some kind of steel framework been added to either keep the chimney towers from falling in, or the wall with the windows from falling out. Then again it might always have been there - the building's only *clad* in brick. Lots of them.
Fancy a competition? Complete the sentence above in the most apt, original and amusing way. I have no idea how that came to be there or why, and still less what prevented the scribe from finishing his question. Maybe he got shot dead by on-site security.
Another intriuging cul-de-sac, at the base of the the south-west tower. They like doing this to us, don't they? They build up our hopes, and knock 'em down again.
Now, that's the south-west tower which has a temporary (well, I say temporary, but I don't remember a time when it *wasn't* there) lift system going all the way up it, presumably to afford access for chimney inspection and to give important people an idea of the views of London from the top. Which didn't include us. Sage advice too on the warning sign: "No kids!" seems to be a good way of going about things like sightseeing, travelling, eating, living in general....
Both south towers together, a bit more scaffolding over on the left and.....the plane! THE PLANE!! Despite looking like a 9/11 remake, in truth they were coming over regularly what with Battersea being on the flight path to Heathrow. You can see why Algie the inflatable pig caused such concern in 1976 really, can't you?
Bloody hell - it's a genuinely unseen bit at last! This lies to the left of the tower with the lift going up it, and used to be the western turbine hall, I think. All that remains now are the tiles on the walls, some kind of observation platform up at the top right, and the roof. Which is more than can be said for the main part of the station, just over on the right. The grey band might have been where another floor entirely was, but it's just a (reasonable) guess.
Actually, I lied. That last picture was on a zoom of sorts; this is the proper length of the room, revealing a crane of some kind, more tilework and the main hall flanking it all on the right again. Not sure what that orb-like thing at the top is though. Outside, beyond the wall on the left....
....is more scaffolding, keeping it propped up. And as you'd expect, the usual flora and fauna. In place of fungi, there's an old oil drum and a sign warning any passing drivers not to go any faster than 5mph. Obviously.
And this is the west side of the building, which is the one you can sort of see if you're on the train coming into (or going out of) Victoria station. Rather dull, is it not? Are they bands to hold the walls together on the top right, or mobile phone masts?
But these are better. Having moved round to the side of the station facing the River Thames, we find these: the two cranes which, I'd imagine, were used to unload coal from ships to stop the lights going out in London. They're looking a bit rusty nowadays, and probably need a bit more than a can of WD40 to get them going again. I wonder if they'll be used if and when building work ever starts? If a ship's better for the enviroment than a load of trucks, then just maybe. That aside, imagine living in those flats on the other side of the river. Just open your curtains, and stare at Battersea Power Station all day....
And so, round to the north towers - the ones facing the Thames that usually get adverts of naked women projected on them. Helpfully, someone dumped a bloody great mound of gravel in front of us - so what the base of these towers look like, I can only guess.
I do like a starburst effect every now and again, you know. Shame that m'colleague was temporarily struck blind as a consequence.
Guess what they're all queueing for? No, not to appear on this page. They're waiting to get a glimpse of the main hole in the middle, which was the boiler house. We're nearly there, don't worry....
See? We're almost in. I told you about that pile of gravel, didn't I?
Oh bloody hell. Is that all that's left? Afraid so. The roof was taken out, and so was the floor. Obviously more steel was added to keep things from falling down, but otherwise it's very, very empty....
If we zoom into the wall at the far end, we see....*something*. This was about thrity feet or so above ground level. How did they do that? And seeing as they have, they could have added some explanatory notes to go with it. I don't know what it means, and you don't either. Anyway, zooming back out, turning right and looking up....
....you can see how many levels have fallen in or been demolished over the years. There's at least *one* lift in the place somewhere, but apparently it's been stuck between floors for decades.
Or even a bloody great model of the surrounding neighbourhood and what they want to try and turn the site into?
Consultation period over (the jury's still out), and disclaimer signed to the effect that if we get twatted by falling masonry we won't sue, and we're off! So in the background, the old. In the foreground, the new: an artist's impression of what'll be where we're standing if things go to plan.
Following the path that was kindly set out for us (with dire warnings of punishment should we deviate from it), we turn the corner and begin the final approach. It's about now it begins to dawn on just how HUGE is is....
Obvious really, but it just gets bigger and bigger the closer you get. Luckily the sun was well placed on the towers to give that old gold colour on the brickwork, just like you get on the 'Animals' cover.....
So just how close *will* they let us get? Going by the scaffolding propping the side up and halfway up the chimney stacks, no wonder they got us to sign away any responsibilty. I can only assume the wing on the right was office/admin space, not to mention where at least some of the actual control rooms for the turbines and boilers must have lived. Might be wrong though, as they never let us see them....
Nice of them to tell us with approximately half a mile already walked, eh? Obviously they're banking on physical exhaustion killing us, not burial under thousands of tons of rubble or asphixiation on clouds of brick dust. Even with such helpful notices as these, there were still females of the species tottering around in heels, clogs and wedges. Personally I'd have liked to have seen someone turn up on stilts, but it didn't happen.
No, I'm sorry. Surely that's TOO close for a building commonly believed to be in peril? No? Oh well.
This initially looked promising in terms of unseen bits. Then we realised it wasn't, unless pitch-black voids had suddenly become wildly interesting.
So we had to content ourselves with moving around the south towers, until we could see right through to the other side. At least the clouds parted for us, eh?
The situation at the base of the towers is dimmer. Rubble, weeds, plants, smashed windows, mould, moss, lichen....dereliction, basically. But we knew that already, didn't we? Perhaps you just didn't want to see it like this....
Halfway up, things are better. Sort of. The windows are a bit of a state, and there's some kind of steel framework been added to either keep the chimney towers from falling in, or the wall with the windows from falling out. Then again it might always have been there - the building's only *clad* in brick. Lots of them.
Fancy a competition? Complete the sentence above in the most apt, original and amusing way. I have no idea how that came to be there or why, and still less what prevented the scribe from finishing his question. Maybe he got shot dead by on-site security.
Another intriuging cul-de-sac, at the base of the the south-west tower. They like doing this to us, don't they? They build up our hopes, and knock 'em down again.
Now, that's the south-west tower which has a temporary (well, I say temporary, but I don't remember a time when it *wasn't* there) lift system going all the way up it, presumably to afford access for chimney inspection and to give important people an idea of the views of London from the top. Which didn't include us. Sage advice too on the warning sign: "No kids!" seems to be a good way of going about things like sightseeing, travelling, eating, living in general....
Both south towers together, a bit more scaffolding over on the left and.....the plane! THE PLANE!! Despite looking like a 9/11 remake, in truth they were coming over regularly what with Battersea being on the flight path to Heathrow. You can see why Algie the inflatable pig caused such concern in 1976 really, can't you?
Bloody hell - it's a genuinely unseen bit at last! This lies to the left of the tower with the lift going up it, and used to be the western turbine hall, I think. All that remains now are the tiles on the walls, some kind of observation platform up at the top right, and the roof. Which is more than can be said for the main part of the station, just over on the right. The grey band might have been where another floor entirely was, but it's just a (reasonable) guess.
Actually, I lied. That last picture was on a zoom of sorts; this is the proper length of the room, revealing a crane of some kind, more tilework and the main hall flanking it all on the right again. Not sure what that orb-like thing at the top is though. Outside, beyond the wall on the left....
....is more scaffolding, keeping it propped up. And as you'd expect, the usual flora and fauna. In place of fungi, there's an old oil drum and a sign warning any passing drivers not to go any faster than 5mph. Obviously.
And this is the west side of the building, which is the one you can sort of see if you're on the train coming into (or going out of) Victoria station. Rather dull, is it not? Are they bands to hold the walls together on the top right, or mobile phone masts?
But these are better. Having moved round to the side of the station facing the River Thames, we find these: the two cranes which, I'd imagine, were used to unload coal from ships to stop the lights going out in London. They're looking a bit rusty nowadays, and probably need a bit more than a can of WD40 to get them going again. I wonder if they'll be used if and when building work ever starts? If a ship's better for the enviroment than a load of trucks, then just maybe. That aside, imagine living in those flats on the other side of the river. Just open your curtains, and stare at Battersea Power Station all day....
And so, round to the north towers - the ones facing the Thames that usually get adverts of naked women projected on them. Helpfully, someone dumped a bloody great mound of gravel in front of us - so what the base of these towers look like, I can only guess.
I do like a starburst effect every now and again, you know. Shame that m'colleague was temporarily struck blind as a consequence.
Guess what they're all queueing for? No, not to appear on this page. They're waiting to get a glimpse of the main hole in the middle, which was the boiler house. We're nearly there, don't worry....
See? We're almost in. I told you about that pile of gravel, didn't I?
Oh bloody hell. Is that all that's left? Afraid so. The roof was taken out, and so was the floor. Obviously more steel was added to keep things from falling down, but otherwise it's very, very empty....
If we zoom into the wall at the far end, we see....*something*. This was about thrity feet or so above ground level. How did they do that? And seeing as they have, they could have added some explanatory notes to go with it. I don't know what it means, and you don't either. Anyway, zooming back out, turning right and looking up....
....you can see how many levels have fallen in or been demolished over the years. There's at least *one* lift in the place somewhere, but apparently it's been stuck between floors for decades.
