Ventilating Column is a Grade II listed building in the Lewisham local planning authority area, England. First listed on 21 May 2018. Ventilation column.
Ventilating Column
- WRENN ID
- solemn-hall-thrush
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Lewisham
- Constituency
- Lewisham North MP: Vicky Foxcroft (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 21 May 2018
- Type
- Ventilation column
- Address
- Ventilating Column, Clifton Rise, London, SE14 6EP
- OS grid reference
- TQ 364 770
- Coordinates
- 51.47581, -0.03697
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Ventilating Column, built in 1897, is one of a pair designed by George Jennings, inspired by an Egyptian pattern from Macfarlane's Castings and based on a design by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson.
This column is made of cast iron and features a tall square plinth with a flared fluted base, decorated with flat Greek key and other geometric patterns. The shaft tapers slightly and is adorned with bold fluting, culminating in stylised, pointed lotus flowers at both the base and the top. The capital is deeply moulded and perforated, showcasing ornamentation of Egyptian aquatic plants.
Above, the superstructure originally held a gas lamp and consists of an elaborate tripod with a fluted shaft. The base is decorated with lotus and other leaves, some of which are folded back, some overlapping, and some unfurling to create the arms of the tripod. The scrolls or unfurling leaves are a shorter variant of the design found on the western column located on New Cross Road, which is also listed as Grade II.
Local climate
Ventilating Column sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 96% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 52% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 6 transactions since 1996
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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