Accumulator Tower and Chimney Stack to East Side of Tower Bridge Approach is a Grade II listed building in the Southwark local planning authority area, England. First listed on 1 July 1983. Accumulator tower.
Accumulator Tower and Chimney Stack to East Side of Tower Bridge Approach
- WRENN ID
- south-landing-marsh
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Southwark
- Constituency
- Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP: Neil Coyle (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 1 July 1983
- Type
- Accumulator tower
- Address
- Accumulator Tower and Chimney Stack to East Side of Tower Bridge Approach, Tower Bridge Road, SE1 2UP
- OS grid reference
- TQ 336 800
- Coordinates
- 51.50402, -0.07616
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The accumulator tower and chimney stack on the east side of Tower Bridge approach were built between 1886 and 1894, designed by engineer Sir J Wolfe-Barry. This structure is made of brown stock brick with grey brick detailing and is styled in a Vanbrughian manner. The tower has a rectangular plan and rises three tall storeys above the level of the River Thames.
The exterior features a three-bay front facing the road, with the outer bays slightly advanced, resembling broad quoin piers. A deep parapet with corbelled dies is topped by a block cornice and a blocking course, all crafted in brick. The central bay includes a door at road level, flanked by two windows above, and an additional window on the top floor, with one more in the middle of the floor between. All windows are adorned with slightly 'Tudor' gauged-brick arches, drip moulds, bull-nosed surrounds, and Portland stone sills. The same window details are present on the short returns of the tower.
Attached to the north side at the base is a tall chimney stack, which has a square section and is slightly battered, with its crown designed similarly to the tower's parapet. The top two-thirds of the chimney stack have been rebuilt. This chimney stack is associated with a pair of fine horizontal tandem compound steam engines located under the south approach. The accumulator tower housed the main accumulator, one of five connected with the bridge, which stored power supplied by the water pump contained within.
Local climate
Accumulator Tower and Chimney Stack to East Side of Tower Bridge Approach 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 95% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 98% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 57% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 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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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- 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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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
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- 3 Prince Street Bridge Engine House and Accumulator Tower
- 4 Engine House and Chimney
- 5 Water Tower, Boiler House and Railings, Boughton Water Pumping Station
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