Report - Battersea Gasholder, London - Oct 2013

[WhoDaresWins]

Visited with Seffy and Gabe.

At over 300 foot high this is the highest Gasometer/Gas Holder I have yet ascended and how amazing it was. I remember seeing this when first getting on the scaffolding at BPS. It certainly stands out on the skyline! Demolition of these Gasholders has been approved by Wandsworth council in order to pave way for homes, shops, offices, leisure facilities and public spaces.

History:

Built in the 1930's this Gasholder is situated on a 5 acre site with 3 other gasholders, they were originally built to store gas made from coal at a local gasworks, located mostly on what is now New Covent Garden Market and a former Royal Mail depot. With the discovery of North Sea gas, the gasworks became redundant and closed in 1970. The gasholders have since been used to store natural gas but were decommissioned in 2012.

I regret not taking a proper exterior photo of this beauty, however I pulled this image from a little bit of filming I did the previous day at BPS:

Access is a little bit tricky but certainly manageable. We did this whilst there were track workers busy on the railway mere yards from the site. A number of wobbly ladders and rusting steel platforms later we were at the top. With only a few minutes to spare before the lights at BPS were due to turn off I only managed a few rushed shots of them whilst lit up:

A little closer:

Some from the roof:

Some from inside. I seriously regret not descending to the bottom of the ladders for some more photos. A repeat visit may very well be in order!