London Hydraulic Power Company Station With Number 37

This is a late 19th-century hydraulic power station built in 1890, with an associated house dated 1891. The station is constructed of red brick with slate and glazed roofs. It consists of a single-story main building with two towers. The building features arched windows with keystones and pedimented gables. The rear tower has a panelled base and cornice, but is plain above, while the front tower is taller and incorporates pedimented windows at eaves level.

Number 37 is two or three storeys high, with a red brick facade and string courses at sill level. It has a slate roof and features paired sash windows. An arched entrance is located to the right, and a stepped gable with a double arched window sits above, along with a dormer. This building served as the Station Superintendent’s house.

The buildings hold both landmark and group value, but of greater significance is the historic and technological importance of the machinery remaining in situ and in working order. This station was the last operational facility of the London Hydraulic Power Company, functioning from 1893 to June 1977. Surviving plant includes electrically driven pumps dating from the 1950s, two accumulator towers, two large cast-iron water tanks (one for clean water, one for dirty water), fittings for the inlet and filtration plants, and cast-iron hydraulic mains of 6", 7", and 8" diameter, along with associated fittings. All items except the 1950s pumps are original. Wapping Wall represents the last fully fitted hydraulic power station in Britain, and its Grade II* listing acknowledges this national significance.