Events
Purcell and Crossness Pumping Station present ‘The Engineering of Belonging’ for LFA
Purcell and Crossness Pumping Station present ‘The Engineering of Belonging’ as part of the London Festival of Architecture.
This special open day will celebrate the extraordinary architecture, engineering and community behind one of Victorian London’s greatest infrastructure projects.
Presented in collaboration with Bow Arts, the event on the 27th of June responds to this year’s LFA theme of ‘Belonging’ by exploring how Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s pioneering sewer network transformed public health across London, while also recognising the more than 100 volunteers whose dedication continues to preserve and animate the historic site today.
Opened in 1865 as the southern endpoint of London’s revolutionary sewer system, Crossness Pumping Station combined pioneering engineering with astonishing architectural ambition, earning its reputation as a Victorian ‘cathedral of ironwork’.
Purcell Associate Partner Neil McLaughlin will deliver lightning talks on the history of Bazalgette and the Victorian sewer system, before exploring Crossness as the southern end of the network and tracing the evolution of the site over time. Visitors will also have a rare opportunity to explore the 1862 plans for the building, offering a closer look at the ambition, detail and imagination behind one of London’s most remarkable pieces of civic infrastructure.
The event will also include a special volunteer-focused exhibition, featuring photography by Alessia Gammarota and a sound piece by artist Katerina Vazacova. Together, these works will bring visitors closer to the people behind Crossness: the volunteers whose skills, friendships and dedication have helped preserve the site and keep it alive for future generations.
Visitors will also be able to explore The Great Stink exhibition, travel to the site by vintage Routemaster shuttle bus from Abbey Wood Station – served by the Elizabeth line and National Rail – take the RANG narrow-gauge railway, and watch demonstrations using a working model of Bazalgette’s sewer system. Across the day, talks, displays and volunteer-led experiences will invite visitors to discover how Crossness helped reshape life for ordinary Londoners, and how this remarkable place continues to be cared for by a community built around shared skill, memory and belonging.
