Fulham Power Station
Encyclopedia
Fulham Power Station was a coal-fired power station
on the north bank of the River Thames
at Battersea Reach in Fulham
, London
, not to be confused with Lots Road Power Station
, a mile or so downstream in Chelsea
.
. A second, 'B' station opened in 1936, occupying a 124 acres (50.2 ha) site with a river frontage of 1300 feet (396.2 m). The station was designed to have a capacity of at least 310 megawatts
(MW), the largest of any municipally-owned station in the UK. It was designed by G.E. Baker and Preece, Cardew and Rider. Fulham was one of the first statons to be fitted with desulphurisation
equipment. This was operated on 120MW of capacity between 1936 and 1940, but later removed.
colliers built by the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company
of Fife
, Scotland. Fulham Borough's ship colours were a grey hull and a grey funnel emblazoned with a black top. The black funnel top was emblazoned with a monogram
of the letters "FBC".
The first three flations, of nearly 1,600 GRT
each, were launched in 1935–37 as SS Fulham, Fulham II and Fulham III. They were joined by the 1,562 GRT sister ship
s SS Fulham IV and SS Fulham V launched in 1938 and 1939.
During the Second World War
the station and its ships were targets for enemy action. In September 1940 a Luftwaffe
air raid in the London blitz damaged the power station. On 4 September 1940 a Kriegsmarine
S-boat torpedoed and shelled Fulham V in the North Sea off Cromer
. The collier sank but all 19 crew were rescued. On 19 February 1941 Fulham II was damaged by a mine
off the mouth of the River Tyne
. One crew member was killed and she was beached at Frenchman's Point near South Shields
to save her from sinking. She was taken to Jarrow
on 18 March and later returned to service.
The 1,552 GRT sister ships SS Fulham VI and SS Fulham VII were launched in November and December 1941. Both survived the war but Fulham VII did not have a long life. On 14 February 1946 she was off Beachy Head
in the English Channel bringing coal from Barry in south Wales when she was sunk in a collision with a US Victory Ship
, the 7,607 GRT .
MV Fulham VIII and MV Fulham IX were sister ships launched in 1947 and 1948. They were motor ship
s, and at almost 1,750 GRT were considerably larger than the earlier coal-burners.
Fulham I and Fulham III were scrapped in 1958, followed by Fulham IV and Fulham VI in 1959 and Fulham II in 1960. Fulham VIII was scrapped in 1969 but Fulham IX was sold in 1970 to new owners in Piraeus
, Greece, who renamed her Eleistria II. On 4th July 1978 she was damaged in a collision with the Cypriot coaster MV Lokma in the Gulf of Suez
. She arrived in Suez
on 7th July, where she was scrapped.
. The BEA was succeeded by the Central Electricity Authority
in 1954 and the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1957.
After the CEGB sold the power station, a private contractor removed and bagged about 1,000 tonnes of hazardous asbestos
and dumped it at an approved site in west London. Residents living close to the power station formed two campaign groups to raise their concerns about the possible risk to public health.
Fulham Power Station was one of the first of a number of power stations that the CEGB was making redundant and selling for redevelopment at that time. On 28 July 1983 it was the focus of a House of Commons debate on the sale and demolition of redundant power stations.
Labour MP Tom Cox
, who had worked for the CEGB and whose Tooting constituency
was only about 1 miles (1.6 km) from the power station, called it a "A major health and environmental issue" and called the CEGB's actions "incompetent". Cox said the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 required six weeks' notice before any asbestos removal, but the CEGB did not give local residents even a month's notice that it had sold the power station or that it was to be demolished.
Conservative MP Martin Stevens
, whose Fulham consituency
included the power station, told the House that the CEGB had not told the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
it had sold the power station and had no statutory obligation to do so. The borough had immediately started monitoring asbestos in the atmosphere. On one occasion asbestos removal had been ordered to stop when it exceeded safe limits, but the Health and Safety Executive
had to give the order as borough environmental health officers had no statutory powers concerning asbestos. Stevens also noted that the borough, not the contractor, was paying the £20,000 per month cost of this monitoring, and to do so for a year would equate to 1% of the Borough's income from local rates.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for Employment, John Gummer, told the House that he gave the CEGB credit for saying
Gummer stated that the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (COPA) required asbestos to be double-bagged to minimise the risk of contamination or spillage, and that this was monitored. However, Martin Stevens intervened stating that the contractor had not double-bagged asbestos waste at Fulham, to which Gummer replied that it for the HSE to decide if one bag would suffice.
In the House of Commons the day after the debate Alf Dubs, Labour MP for the Battersea constituency
just across the river from Fulham Power Station, asked Norman Tebbit
, Secretary of State for Employment
"what representations he has received about the dangers of asbestos caused by the demolition of Fulham power station". John Gummer replied for the Secretary of State
, but in line), whilst Lots Road had four (later two) brick chimneys at its corners.
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
on the north bank of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at Battersea Reach in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, not to be confused with Lots Road Power Station
Lots Road Power Station
Lots Road Power Station is a disused coal and later oil-fired power station on the River Thames at Lots Road in Chelsea, London in the south-west of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which supplied electricity to the London Underground system...
, a mile or so downstream in Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
.
History
The original power station was built around 1901 by Fulham Borough CouncilMetropolitan Borough of Fulham
The Metropolitan Borough of Fulham was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith to form the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was a riverside borough, and included the areas of Fulham, West...
. A second, 'B' station opened in 1936, occupying a 124 acres (50.2 ha) site with a river frontage of 1300 feet (396.2 m). The station was designed to have a capacity of at least 310 megawatts
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
(MW), the largest of any municipally-owned station in the UK. It was designed by G.E. Baker and Preece, Cardew and Rider. Fulham was one of the first statons to be fitted with desulphurisation
Flue gas desulfurization
Sulfur dioxide is one of the elements forming acid rain. Tall flue-gas stacks disperse emissions by diluting the pollutants in ambient air and transporting them to other regions....
equipment. This was operated on 120MW of capacity between 1936 and 1940, but later removed.
Collier fleet and war damage
The 'B' station had a 120 yards (109.7 m) coal wharf, served by its own fleet of flatironFlatiron (ship)
A flatiron is a type of coastal trading vessel designed to pass under bridges that have limited clearance. Her mast are hinged or telescopic, her funnel may be hinged, and her wheelhouse may also fold flat....
colliers built by the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company
Burntisland Shipbuilding Company
The Burntisland Shipbuilding Company was a shibuilder and repairer in Burntisland, Fife, Scotland that traded from 1918 until 1969.-Founding and early years:...
of Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland. Fulham Borough's ship colours were a grey hull and a grey funnel emblazoned with a black top. The black funnel top was emblazoned with a monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
of the letters "FBC".
The first three flations, of nearly 1,600 GRT
Gross Register Tonnage
Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
each, were launched in 1935–37 as SS Fulham, Fulham II and Fulham III. They were joined by the 1,562 GRT sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s SS Fulham IV and SS Fulham V launched in 1938 and 1939.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the station and its ships were targets for enemy action. In September 1940 a Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
air raid in the London blitz damaged the power station. On 4 September 1940 a Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
S-boat torpedoed and shelled Fulham V in the North Sea off Cromer
Cromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
. The collier sank but all 19 crew were rescued. On 19 February 1941 Fulham II was damaged by a mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
off the mouth of the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
. One crew member was killed and she was beached at Frenchman's Point near South Shields
South Shields
South Shields is a coastal town in Tyne and Wear, England, located at the mouth of the River Tyne to Tyne Dock, and about downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne...
to save her from sinking. She was taken to Jarrow
Jarrow
Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...
on 18 March and later returned to service.
The 1,552 GRT sister ships SS Fulham VI and SS Fulham VII were launched in November and December 1941. Both survived the war but Fulham VII did not have a long life. On 14 February 1946 she was off Beachy Head
Beachy Head
Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...
in the English Channel bringing coal from Barry in south Wales when she was sunk in a collision with a US Victory Ship
Victory ship
The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines...
, the 7,607 GRT .
MV Fulham VIII and MV Fulham IX were sister ships launched in 1947 and 1948. They were motor ship
Motor ship
A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The name of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V.- See also :...
s, and at almost 1,750 GRT were considerably larger than the earlier coal-burners.
Fulham I and Fulham III were scrapped in 1958, followed by Fulham IV and Fulham VI in 1959 and Fulham II in 1960. Fulham VIII was scrapped in 1969 but Fulham IX was sold in 1970 to new owners in Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, Greece, who renamed her Eleistria II. On 4th July 1978 she was damaged in a collision with the Cypriot coaster MV Lokma in the Gulf of Suez
Gulf of Suez
The northern end of the Red Sea is bifurcated by the Sinai Peninsula, creating the Gulf of Suez in the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. The Gulf of Suez is formed within a relatively young, but now inactive rift basin, the Gulf of Suez Rift, dating back about 28 million years...
. She arrived in Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
on 7th July, where she was scrapped.
Nationalisation
In 1948 Britain's electricity supply industry was nationalised under the Electricity Act 1947 and Fulham Power Station became part of the British Electricity AuthorityBritish Electricity Authority
The British Electricity Authority was established in 1948 with the nationalisation of the Great Britain's electricity supply industry. It was created by means of the Electricity Act 1947...
. The BEA was succeeded by the Central Electricity Authority
Central Electricity Authority (UK)
The Central Electricity Authority was a body that ran the electricity supply industry in England and Wales between 1954 and 1957. The CEA replaced the earlier British Electricity Authority as a result of the Electricity Reorganisation Act 1954, which moved responsibility for Scottish electricity...
in 1954 and the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1957.
Decommissioning and asbestos removal
The CEGB decommissioned the power station in 1978 and sold it for redevelopment. Early in the 1980s some of its buildings were demolished for redevelopment, and the remaining buildings were converted into a 20000 square metres (215,278.2 sq ft) storage facility.After the CEGB sold the power station, a private contractor removed and bagged about 1,000 tonnes of hazardous asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
and dumped it at an approved site in west London. Residents living close to the power station formed two campaign groups to raise their concerns about the possible risk to public health.
Fulham Power Station was one of the first of a number of power stations that the CEGB was making redundant and selling for redevelopment at that time. On 28 July 1983 it was the focus of a House of Commons debate on the sale and demolition of redundant power stations.
Labour MP Tom Cox
Tom Cox
Thomas Michael Cox is a retired Labour party politician in the United Kingdom.Cox was educated at state schools and the London School of Economics after which, according to his entry in Who's Who, he became an "electrical worker"...
, who had worked for the CEGB and whose Tooting constituency
Tooting (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- See also :* List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London* London Borough of Wandsworth-External links:****...
was only about 1 miles (1.6 km) from the power station, called it a "A major health and environmental issue" and called the CEGB's actions "incompetent". Cox said the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 required six weeks' notice before any asbestos removal, but the CEGB did not give local residents even a month's notice that it had sold the power station or that it was to be demolished.
Conservative MP Martin Stevens
Martin Stevens
Martin Stevens was a British Conservative Party politician.Stevens was educated at Orley Farm School, Bradfield and Trinity College, Oxford, and was a company director. He served as a member of the London County Council from 1955–58 and a councillor on Camberwell Borough Council from...
, whose Fulham consituency
Fulham (UK Parliament constituency)
Fulham was a borough constituency based around the London district of Fulham. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1918 and from 1955 to 1997....
included the power station, told the House that the CEGB had not told the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London, and forms part of Inner London. Traversed by the east-west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough....
it had sold the power station and had no statutory obligation to do so. The borough had immediately started monitoring asbestos in the atmosphere. On one occasion asbestos removal had been ordered to stop when it exceeded safe limits, but the Health and Safety Executive
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
had to give the order as borough environmental health officers had no statutory powers concerning asbestos. Stevens also noted that the borough, not the contractor, was paying the £20,000 per month cost of this monitoring, and to do so for a year would equate to 1% of the Borough's income from local rates.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
for Employment, John Gummer, told the House that he gave the CEGB credit for saying
"We have been told by the citizens of Fulham and people throughout the country that they would feel more assured if we had full responsibility to control the removal of asbestos from power stations before selling them."
Gummer stated that the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (COPA) required asbestos to be double-bagged to minimise the risk of contamination or spillage, and that this was monitored. However, Martin Stevens intervened stating that the contractor had not double-bagged asbestos waste at Fulham, to which Gummer replied that it for the HSE to decide if one bag would suffice.
In the House of Commons the day after the debate Alf Dubs, Labour MP for the Battersea constituency
Battersea (UK Parliament constituency)
Battersea is a parliamentary constituency located in Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system.- Boundaries :The...
just across the river from Fulham Power Station, asked Norman Tebbit
Norman Tebbit
Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, CH, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment...
, Secretary of State for Employment
Secretary of State for Employment
The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...
"what representations he has received about the dangers of asbestos caused by the demolition of Fulham power station". John Gummer replied for the Secretary of State
"The Health and Safety Executive is monitoring demolition work at Fulham and the Central Electricity Generating Board has announced that in future it will strip power stations of asbestos before sale."
Confusion with Lots Road Power Station
There is some confusion in historical references between the Fulham and Lots Road stations. The two can be readily distinguished in photographs because Fulham had four concrete chimneys (similar to those of nearby Battersea Power StationBattersea Power Station
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Battersea, South London. The station comprises two individual power stations, built in two stages in the form of a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built first in the...
, but in line), whilst Lots Road had four (later two) brick chimneys at its corners.