Control Room A – Battersea Power Station: The Sleeping Giant Awakes!

I recall train journeys into London Victoria as a child with the omnipresent view of Battersea Power Station. This monolithic sleeping giant is another treasured symbol of London’s skyline, as much as Big Ben or Nelson himself. Dad would always remark on its history, ‘The power that building once had! It provided light to the whole of London at one point.’

Fast-forward thirty years and the story enters a new chapter. The once sleeping giant is alive with electric power again.

My mind was bedazzled by the thought of some inner workings akin to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, or Tolkien’s Lonely Mountain.What could possibly be inside? But dormant it lay, forever it seemed, and the decades went past. Perhaps there could be a dragon like Smaug the Magnificent guarding it, an endless treasure waiting to be discovered! Would we ever see the smoke rise from this mountainous view again?

Fast-forward thirty years and the story enters a new chapter. The once sleeping giant is alive with electric power again. In fact, the newly repurposed Battersea Power Station is a magnificent metropolis of retail, dining, and entertainment. And finally, as I explored, I found myself in the nerve centre, the place on which my imagination had dwelt all those years: Control Room A, Battersea Power Station’s restored 1930s command post. It was just like my father, the ultimate storyteller, told me: this room lit up London. The jewel in the crown of the whole building.

The team used a host of new restoration techniques, including digital scanning to precisely replicate the 1930's paint colours and 3D printing to produce missing knobs and buttons

Control room A was built to manage the distribution of electricity generated by the Power Station – about a fifth of all the power used by our capital, including Buckingham Palace (code name Carnaby Street 3). The station was decommissioned in 1975, at which point the building fell into disrepair, but now is a stunning venue which you can hire as an ultimate party space. It is Grade II listed, early 20th century design, and has the original switchboards, control panels and machinery which have been returned to their former glory. The team used a host of new restoration techniques, including digital scanning to precisely replicate the 1930's paint colours and 3D printing to produce missing knobs and buttons of the control desks. It is seriously impressive.

Teak parquet floors, marble finishings and an elaborate gold-coffered glass ceiling present Art Deco glamour at its most authentic. With a capacity of up to 220 guests, it offers a unique venue for receptions, fashion shows, dinners and launches.

Battersea Power Station roars once more, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

For more information, or to book Control Room A for an event, please visit their website