Thorpe Marsh Power Station (disused)

United Kingdom / England / Hatfield /
 abandoned / shut down, power station
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This is the site of Thorpe Marsh Power Station. Only the 6 cooling towers (three for each of the turbines) remain.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorpe_Marsh_Power_Station
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   53°34'50"N   1°5'22"W

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  • The remains of Thorpe Marsh were used in scenes in ITV drama "The Last Train" in 1999 - see http://www.felbridgecamp.freeserve.co.uk/lasttrain4.htm for more details on this. The towers cannot be demolished due to their containing asbestos, which would contaminate land for miles around if it were destroyed by traditional means. The only working part of the site is the massive substations, which still form an integral part of the national grid power distribution network.
  • The cooling towers did contain asbestos cement pipework and ducting most of which has been removed from all but one of the towers-the one used in "The Last Train". Allegedly blowing the cooling towers down with explosives could rupture the nearby dykes holding back the river Don. So the site survives slowly decaying. The engineering blocks and offices have been demolished since this image was taken. There have been several controversial plans for the site; including a car distribution depot and most recently a huge landfill site, neither of which was popular with the local residents.
  • 5 of the 6 cooling towers are due for demolition in June and July 2011.
  • there has been some activity on the thorpe marsh site although all 6 cooling towers remain with one still having asbestos piping the ash hoppers have had some work done on them showing they are being removed along with only one cooling tower but still awaiting for able uk ltd to complete their task, the canal banks have recently been reinforced to withstand some of the impact of the demolition & all hidden dangerzones on the thorpe mars site has been made safe. the current plans for a rebuild may be currently on hold so thorpe marsh will still remain standing as a magnet for urban explorers to see
  • Asbestos? Shmasbestos. They're still standing today, some tidying up been done, staircase on the ash slurry hoppers has been cut back to 2nd floor so tricky to get to the roof now. Still worth climbing the one intact tower. http://www.flickr.com/photos/34007251@N07/sets/72157627692536190/
  • The tower containing the asbestos cement ducting etc is being stripped by conventional means :(
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This article was last modified 12 years ago