The Great Stink
13th September 2016
On one of the warmest, sunniest days of the year (13th September – lucky for us), a party of some 45 members of ACU3A fought their way into London (albeit by a Mason’s coach!) and picked up Doug, our Blue Badge Guide, outside Madame Tussauds, continuing on down Gower Street and through Bloomsbury, with just a glimpse of the elegant North-side Georgian façade of Bedford Square.
Our first stop was Chancery Lane where the story of “The Great Stink” began. A short walk through a passageway towards Fleet Street provided insight into what it must have been like living in London in former times without the public conveniences that we know today: just a row of protective plates attached low down along the side of a building at an appropriate angle to deflect unsanitary insult! And that’s just for the gentlemen; the ladies were deemed not to stray far from home and therefore not in need.
Our guide offered some fascinating nuggets of history about the buildings along Fleet Street before we took refreshment at the Knights Templar pub in Chancery Lane (too early to start supping – notwithstanding beer at only £2.60 a pint) The interior of the hostelry itself was amazing: a former bank building with chandeliers and ornate brass fittings, it even sported a marble statue in the ladies’ loo (although possibly now a Plaster of Paris replica!); mirrors and more ornate brass fittings featured in each cubicle.
After a brief drive round the area of Smithfield Meat Market, we made our way to the Victoria Embankment during which our guide explained the inadequate sewage disposal facilities in London during the sixteen and seventeenth centuries. Leaving the coach, we boarded a river boat where we enjoyed an amusing commentary by one of the crew and ate our picnic as we floated down river on the ebbing tide towards Greenwich. With just a brief glimpse of the Cutty Sark, we re-joined the coach for our final destination, Crossness Pumping Station, a key element in Joseph Bazalgette’s radical scheme to improve the health and sanitation of Victorian London, opened by Albert Edward Prince of Wales in 1865. The ironwork fig-motifs on the pillars in the central lobby were a nice touch (figs being a popular laxative in Victorian times!).
Four magnificent rotative beam engines, built by James Watt & Company, were used to pump London’s sewage into a reservoir before being discharged into the Thames on ebbing tides. The building and engines are now “listed” and being restored to their former glory by a 50-strong volunteer workforce with funding from The Lottery and private donors. Their efforts have already spanned eighteen years but there is still an enormous amount to do. One of the engines is now fully operational and “steaming days” are arranged periodically throughout the year.
Thanks go to Trina Stallwood for organising such an interesting day out, with the added bonus of a London Blue Badge Guide from City and Village Tours (www.cityandvillagetours.com) – well worth it.
Pictures by Mick and Trina Stallwood.
Janet Cato
September 2016
Our first stop was Chancery Lane where the story of “The Great Stink” began. A short walk through a passageway towards Fleet Street provided insight into what it must have been like living in London in former times without the public conveniences that we know today: just a row of protective plates attached low down along the side of a building at an appropriate angle to deflect unsanitary insult! And that’s just for the gentlemen; the ladies were deemed not to stray far from home and therefore not in need.
Our guide offered some fascinating nuggets of history about the buildings along Fleet Street before we took refreshment at the Knights Templar pub in Chancery Lane (too early to start supping – notwithstanding beer at only £2.60 a pint) The interior of the hostelry itself was amazing: a former bank building with chandeliers and ornate brass fittings, it even sported a marble statue in the ladies’ loo (although possibly now a Plaster of Paris replica!); mirrors and more ornate brass fittings featured in each cubicle.
After a brief drive round the area of Smithfield Meat Market, we made our way to the Victoria Embankment during which our guide explained the inadequate sewage disposal facilities in London during the sixteen and seventeenth centuries. Leaving the coach, we boarded a river boat where we enjoyed an amusing commentary by one of the crew and ate our picnic as we floated down river on the ebbing tide towards Greenwich. With just a brief glimpse of the Cutty Sark, we re-joined the coach for our final destination, Crossness Pumping Station, a key element in Joseph Bazalgette’s radical scheme to improve the health and sanitation of Victorian London, opened by Albert Edward Prince of Wales in 1865. The ironwork fig-motifs on the pillars in the central lobby were a nice touch (figs being a popular laxative in Victorian times!).
Four magnificent rotative beam engines, built by James Watt & Company, were used to pump London’s sewage into a reservoir before being discharged into the Thames on ebbing tides. The building and engines are now “listed” and being restored to their former glory by a 50-strong volunteer workforce with funding from The Lottery and private donors. Their efforts have already spanned eighteen years but there is still an enormous amount to do. One of the engines is now fully operational and “steaming days” are arranged periodically throughout the year.
Thanks go to Trina Stallwood for organising such an interesting day out, with the added bonus of a London Blue Badge Guide from City and Village Tours (www.cityandvillagetours.com) – well worth it.
Pictures by Mick and Trina Stallwood.
Janet Cato
September 2016