Number 1 Sewer Ventilation Column at the junction of Banstead Road and Park Hill

Number 1 Sewer Ventilation Column, located at the junction of Banstead Road and Park Hill, is a sewer ventilation column built around 1896-1903 by W Macfarlane & Co for a sewerage scheme designed by Baldwin Latham. It is one of about 28 remaining in Carshalton, in the London Borough of Sutton.

This cylindrical column stands approximately 9 meters tall and is designed to resemble a Classical column, featuring a pedestal, moulded base, and enriched capital. It is made from cast iron and consists of two conjoined lengths of pipe connected by a flanged joint. Atop the capital is an ornate arrow, which is believed to serve the purpose of orienting the vent into the wind or indicating the line of the sewer. Above the arrow is a ball with vents facing in all four directions. Originally, the column would have had a tall finial encircled with a coronet, but these decorative elements are no longer present. There is no visible manufacturer stamp, although several similar columns in Carshalton are marked with the name ‘W MACFARLANE & CO, GLASGOW’.