Abbey Mills Pumping Station

The Abbey Mills Pumping Station situated in Abbey Lane was designed by Joseph Bazalgette, with the help of engineer Edmund Cooper, and architect Charles Driver. Described as ‘the Cathedral of Sewage’, it was built in Byzantine style and in the shape of a cruciform. Originally run by steam, it had two huge Moorish-style chimneys which were demolished in the Second World War for fear of being too easily identifiable as targets by German bombers. The Pumping Station is a dramatic and unexpected building, now no longer used for its original purpose, has served as a film set for Arkham Asylum in the 2005 film, Batman Begins. It also contains certain administrative offices.