Crossness Pumping Station, Bexley, Greater London
A large group of men, many in top hats, posed in front of Crossness Pumping Station, Bexley, which is surrounded in wooden scaffolding, and which was officially opened on 4th April 1865. It was constructed to pump and release the sewage from the three intercepting sewers south of the Thames. It is possible that one of the group shown in the photograph is Sir Joseph Bazalgette, the chief engineer responsible for the design and construction of the sewerage and water treatment systems in London.