Vision for the Crossness Engines Trust

Our vision is to restore and maintain the Grade1 & 2 Listed buildings, the engines, the site and collections of artefacts at Crossness, in order to preserve and interpret a unique part of London’s industrial heritage for the enjoyment, appreciation and education of a wide public. Aiming to achieve Registered Museum status, we will strategically manage and conserve our collections and archives according to recognised standards, and we will seek to maximize the educational and outreach potential of the site for a wide range of learners. We aim to upgrade the exhibitions and displays to explore themes that are both relevant and accessible to a wide range of audiences so that Crossness eventually becomes a popular and high-profile heritage attraction within the emerging Thames Gateway region. We will integrate this with the heritage attractions of the area especially those managed by the Bexley Heritage Trust and we aim to provide a valuable resource and potentially an arts facility for the local community. We will seek to secure the growth and development of the Trust’s membership and volunteer body and to develop the role of Crossness in training for both future volunteers and for the local community. Alongside a continuing and central role for the volunteers, the Trust will engage a small team of paid staff and will aim to secure a sustainable business model for its operations.

What the vision means:

In 10-15 years Crossness will be a vibrant and compelling heritage attraction that forms a key part of the tourism and heritage offer of Bexley within the regenerated Thames Gateway sub-region. The magnificent Grade 1 listed buildings will be fully restored and subject to an ongoing programme of care and maintenance, and the Trust will have completed the restoration of Victoria, the second beam engine to be preserved on the site.

Crossness will celebrate a triumph of Victorian architecture and engineering, the remarkable achievement of Sir Joseph Bazalgette in eradicating the public health problems of London in the mid-19 th century. With the help of the buildings themselves, the great beam engines and a unique collection of artefacts, it will tell the story of how a revolutionary drainage system, employing the four largest rotary beam engines in the world, solved London’s sewage problems. It will also bring the story up to date, illustrating the modern treatment technology exemplified by the neighbouring Thames Water plant.

Exhibitions will explore the fascinating social history of the site (originally so remote that a whole community was housed and educated there) and a range of themes including steam engineering, public health, sanitation and hygiene, pollution and the environment. The exhibitions will comprise high quality displays and make use of a range of interpretative techniques addressing the needs of different audiences. A wealth of educational resources and activities, addressing both the demands of the National Curriculum and the needs of life-long learners, will include teachers’, pupils’ and family learning packs, educational events and outreach programmes.

Large spaces currently unused within the historic complex will have new uses. The Valve House will accommodate an exhibition of the smaller steam engines from the Trust’s collections, tracing the development of industrial steam engines. The Triple Engine House will have a new suspended floor inserted to allow its use as an exciting space for the visual arts and for corporate hospitality.

The requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act will be met in providing appropriate access for all visitors to the site. An effective access policy will ensure all forms of access are addressed (including physical, sensory, intellectual, cultural and financial) and where the nature of the historic building constrains access to certain areas, ‘reasonable adjustments’ will be adopted (i.e. alternative forms of interpretation).

Crossness will have full Registered Museum status with policies for collection management, acquisitions and disposals, interpretation and education. The Trust’s collections and archives will be fully documented and information will be available to scholars and to researchers both on-site and on-line.

Crossness will also have an important training role. Working with local educational establishments, training organisations and accreditation bodies, it will deliver a range of training programmes, serving both the needs of the Trust to transfer and retain knowledge and expertise in steam, and the needs of a local community seeking to develop skills and build capacity.

The site will have its own dedicated access, independent of Thames Water, and the wider transport infrastructure serving the site will be much improved with the new Thames crossing, DLR extension to Woolwich and Crossrail Link to Abbey Wood and Ebbsfleet. The site will be open to the public at least 2 days a week all year and visitor facilities will be of a standard appropriate to an important visitor attraction, including car parking, disabled toilets, baby-changing facilities, café and shop.

Crossness will be actively promoted as part of the developing tourism destination in the East of London, working in partnership with regional and sub-regional tourism and heritage bodies such as TourEast and Bexley Heritage Trust. It will publish marketing materials and informational literature, including a web site, of a high standard and geared to target audiences.

The site will continue to be managed by the Crossness Engines Trust and, through active recruitment, its volunteer and membership base will continue to grow and play a central role in the preservation and operation of the site. However to meet its growing responsibilities and deliver its aspirations, the Trust will employ a small executive staff to take care of day-to-day management, education, training and marketing. To fund these activities new income streams will be developed, including, in addition to the existing income from film work, the development of venue hire, admissions income and trading operations, and strategic fund-raising activity.