Urban Wandering: Imperial Road Gas Holders, Fulham, London

Just a short blog post today to share some pictures from a few weeks ago of one of my favourite urban features, gas holders. These relics of industrial architecture used to be common place but now more and more of them are being cleared for re-development. This particular gas holder is the only one remaining from the Imperial Gasworks, near Fulham, which according to the National Grid website, is gasholder number 2 and the oldest in the world. The series of 4 photos follows my approach towards it heading south-east along Imperial Road. I have visited this area before and blogged about it in An Urban Wander around Imperial Wharf but the colour of the sky and the evening sun made the magnificent structure look even more impressive and imposing than usual.

London remains strewn with several former power stations and gasworks. Most people will be familiar with Battersea Powerstation, and also very likely the Bankside Power Station (now the Tate Modern) but for anyone interested in reading more about these wonderful structures, I can highly recommend London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks by Ben Pedroche.

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Gas holder, Imperial Gasworks, London

Thanks for reading this post. Any comments are very welcome and appreciated.

A Wander Along the River Thames near Reading, Berkshire

I thought twice about posting these pictures as although, to my mind, the subject matter is interesting, the sky was overcast and the photos do not perhaps give the impression I was hoping for. However, I eventually managed to persuade myself to share them. They were all taken on the short stretch of the River Thames between Thames Valley Business Park and Reading. It's got a gasometer, a railway bridge, a water tower and a ghost sign ... what more could one ask for.

So let's start with a ghost sign, on what I assume was a former pub, or maybe an off licence.

SIMONDS ALES & STOUT, WINES & SPIRITS

Ghost sign of former pub along the River Thames, near Reading

And now on to various pictures of the gasometer against an unfortunately dull and dreary sky. Although looking as though it's seen better days, the railway bridge in the foreground of this picture is still in use and carries the line south from Reading. Just peeking out behind the gasometer a water tower makes its presence known.

Gasometer and railway bridge, near Reading, Berkshire

The next couple of pictures give a better view of both the gasometer and the water tower.

Gasometer and water tower, near Reading, Berkshire

Gasometer and water tower, near Reading, Berkshire

Perhaps not obvious in the previous pictures, but these structures are massive, as the next couple of shots hopefully illustrate. And for anyone with an interest in gasometers, I can highly recommend the book London's Lost Power Stations and Gasworks.

Gasometer near Reading, Berkshire

Gasometer near Reading, Berkshire