The Oval Gasholders

These massive iron frames once supported two colossal telescopic gasometers that stored millions of cubic feet of coal gas for the city of London. When the internal tanks were full, the structures rose to their full height, and as gas was drawn out for heating and lighting, the tanks slowly sank back into the ground. These skeletal towers were completed in the eighteen seventies and became a defining feature of the Kennington skyline, marking the industrial importance of this site for over a century.