Collections & Archive
Objects on display and in store, and an archive of drawings, records and photographs.
What we look after
Crossness holds more than engines. In the museum store and on open display you will find sanitary ware, tools, models, memorabilia and finds recovered on site. In the archive room sit engineering drawings, staff records, patents, water-testing papers, photographs and a reference library of over 1,100 books. More than 700 objects. More than 13,000 archive items. All of it is part of how London learned to stay clean.
History
History Timeline
Key moments from the Great Stink to the rescue and restoration of Crossness.
Explore history →
Sanitation
Toilet Timeline
How toilets and sanitation changed everyday life.
Toilet Timeline →
Engines
Beam Engines & Ironwork
The four beam engines and the Grade I Beam Engine House.
Beam engines →Object collection
When objects are not on show in the Boiler House or Valve House they are kept in the Museum Store. Among them are nineteenth- and twentieth-century sanitary ware (bowls, bed pans, chamber pots, commodes), scale models of the Crossness buildings, sludge-vessel memorabilia, personal items linked to Joseph Bazalgette, Victorian domestic pieces, paintings and drawings, and finds recovered on site by volunteers (a pair of leather boots, a 1940s gardening newspaper, small bathroom fittings).
On open display
Boards and objects in the Boiler House cover the story of sanitation and the main drainage works of the 1860s. The Valve House holds smaller working engines. In the Beam Engine House: Prince Consort (restored, steamed on open days), Victoria (under restoration), and Albert Edward and Alexandra (largely as left in the 1950s). The workshop still uses period tools on live restoration, and the locomotive Bazalgette is on view too.
Handling collection
Some objects are reserved for school and group visits so students can handle them. A washboard is a simple way into how laundry was done before machines. Education enquiries: [email protected].
Archives
The archive holds more than 13,000 items: engineering drawings, glass slides, log books, VHS tapes and much else, plus a reference library on engineering, sanitation and Victorian London.
What people come to study
- Family history: former staff and residents (some medical records are restricted).
- The Trust itself: records of the Crossness Engines Trust and its predecessor, the Crossness Beam Engines Preservation Group.
- Bazalgette’s main drainage: Metropolitan Board of Works, London County Council and Greater London Council material from the 1850s to the 1990s, including drawings for Crossness and sister pumping stations.
- Sludge vessels: twentieth-century log books and crew memos.
- Sanitary ware: plumbing catalogues and patents (about 1894 to 1949).
- River and water quality: papers of chemist Arthur Green, and nineteenth-century investigations into London water companies.
Full access notes and conditions of use are on the Archives page.
Visit, research and behind the scenes
On open days you can see displays, the engines and (on many Sundays) a free thirty-minute behind-the-scenes tour of the archive room and museum store. Maximum twelve people; older children welcome. Meet at the top of the stairs in the Boiler House five minutes before the start. A step-free route is available: see Accessibility.
Research is by appointment. Research room hours are 10:30–14:30 on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Book via the form below or email [email protected]. The room is climate-controlled, so warm clothing helps. You may be asked to wear gloves with certain metal objects. Archive material does not leave the room.
Conditions of use (research visits)
- No smoking, eating or drinking in collections areas.
- Pencils only (no pens in the archive).
- Handle material carefully and follow staff instructions.
- Staff supervise visits to protect the collection.
- Nothing is removed from the archive room.
- Ask before photographing or copying material.
- Follow site health and safety and fire procedures.
Thinking of donating?
We only add material that fits our mission and that we can care for properly. Please read the Collections Development Policy (PDF) (opens in a new tab) before offering a gift. Email [email protected] with a clear description.
We are keen to collect
- Life and work at Crossness, especially women and children on site; the First World War; staff social life (dances, cricket and the rest).
- Gaps in sanitary history: high-end ornate bowls, modern toilets, public-health material (including water-borne disease).
- Material linked to notable people (including Bazalgette), Victorian London, engines, pumps, drainage and plumbing.
- Records of the Trust and the London sewage system that fill real gaps (not copies of what other archives already hold online).
We generally cannot take
- Material of doubtful legal origin, or duplicates we already hold (unless useful for handling).
- Items outside the collecting policy, or in unsafe condition (active mould, pests, water damage).
- Carriers we are not equipped to look after (for example nitrate film, wax cylinders, open-reel tape, floppy disks).
Research enquiry
Tell us what you are looking for: a named person, an object group, a drawing series or a theme. Appointments are offered on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays (10:30–14:30). We will reply as soon as we can.