Pump House Gallery is an art gallery in

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland recla ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It is both located in and owned and managed by the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is a former pump house for the adjacent boating lake, and is the only Grade II listed building in the park.

Pump house

The pump house was built in 1861 by James and William Simpson, in order to supply water to the 15-acre boating lake. The boating lake was a key feature of Battersea Park, designed in the 1850s by James Pennethorne. It is built of

English bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...

brown brick with rusticated quoin strips and stucco dressings, and has a hipped

Welsh slate The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the l ...

roof. The front 4-storey bay has 'VR/1861' set in a stone roundel above a keyed stone semi-circular arched doorway. Although there are other listed structures and features in the park, the pump house is the only listed building. It was restored in 1987–88, and is Grade II listed.

Gallery

The gallery features contemporary art exhibitions, and includes a gift shop. The gallery features annual outdoor exhibitions. The gallery is available for civil weddings.

References

1861 establishments in England Art galleries in London Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth {{London museums