Crossness Pumping Station in the context of "Abbey Mills Pumping Stations"

The Great Stink was an event in Central London during July and August 1858 in which the hot weather exacerbated the smell of untreated human waste and industrial effluent that was present on the banks of the River Thames. The problem had been mounting for some years, with an ageing and inadequate sewer system that emptied directly into the Thames. The miasma from the effluent was thought to transmit contagious diseases, and three outbreaks of cholera before the Great Stink were blamed on the ongoing problems with the river.

The smell, and fears of its possible effects, prompted action by the national and local administrators who had been considering possible solutions to the problem. The authorities accepted a proposal from the civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette to move the effluent eastwards along a series of interconnecting sewers that sloped towards outfalls beyond the metropolitan area. Work on high-, mid- and low-level systems for the new Northern and Southern Outfall Sewers started at the beginning of 1859 and lasted until 1875. To aid the drainage, pumping stations were built to lift the sewage from lower levels into higher pipes. Two of the more ornate stations, Abbey Mills in Stratford and Crossness on the Erith Marshes, with architectural designs by the consultant engineer, Charles Driver, are listed for protection by English Heritage. Bazalgette's plan introduced the three embankments to London in which the sewers ran: the Victoria, Chelsea and Albert Embankments.

Erith Marshes is an area of grazing marsh beside the south bank of River Thames in Greater London, England.It is located next to the Crossness Sewage Treatment Works and is owned by Thames Water. It is a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation in the London Borough of Bexley. It can be accessed by London Buses routes 177, 180, 229, 401 and 472.

The bulk of the marshes which once existed from Woolwich to Erith have now been built upon. The small part that remains is owned by Thames Water, who manage a wildlife area.