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, London, Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It is both located in and owned and managed by the

London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...

. It is a former pump house for the adjacent boating lake, and is the only

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

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 Sir James Pennethorne (4 June 1801 – 1 September 1871) was a British architect and planner, particularly associated with buildings and parks in central London. Life Early years Pennethorne was born in Worcester, and travelled to London i ...

. 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 s ...

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 rapidly during the Industrial ...

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