The Crossness Pumping Station was built by Sir Joseph Bazalgette as part of Victorian London's urgently needed main drainage scheme. It was officially opened by the Prince of Wales in April 1865.

The Beam Engine House is a Grade 1 Listed building in a Victorian Romanesque style, which features some spectacular ornamental ironwork. It still contains the four original pumping engines, (though the cylinders were upgraded in 1899). The engines represent the largest concentration of rotative beam engines in the world, with 52 ton flywheels and 47 ton beams. The installation was taken out of service in the 1920's, although one of the engines was run in 1953, when there was a risk of flooding nearby. Between the 1950's and 1985 the engine house was systematically vandalised which has greatly impeded the progress of the restoration of the engines.

The Crossness Engines Trust, a registered charity, was set up in 1987 to restore the installation which represents a unique part of Britain's industrial heritage and an outstanding example of Victorian engineering. All the restoration work so far carried out has been done entirely by an unpaid volunteer workforce.