West Ham Pumping Station Open Day for Open House

The Westham Pumping Station will be open on the 12th September 2026, between  the hours of 11.00 and 3.00, as part of London Open House
Admission is free, but donations welcome.
The nearest station is the DLR Abbey Road, which is two minutes away.
Website: The Heritage Engineering Learning Trust

History of the West Ham Pumping Station

Much of West Ham and surrounding areas with local houses, shops and businesses simply wouldn’t be here today if the pumping station hadn’t been built between 1895 and 1900. It protected the area from flooding when it rained and prevented sewage backing up into people’s houses as bathrooms and toilets came into widespread use.

Five powerful steam engines drove pumps to suck the sewage up and then pump it to the Northern Outfall Sewer and/or Channel Sea River alongside. Other engines made electricity to power street lights and the West Ham Corporation Tramways until the 1920’s. Steam was supplied from nine boilers burning coal, brought in by river and road.

The station and its dedicated staff served the local community faithfully every day for 70 years.

The large surviving pumping station, and the 1897 engine house, along with its two unique  Lilleshall compound beam engines, will form the foundations of an exciting new educational heritage centre in the Lea Valley.