River Thames Tide Gauge Hut

River Thames Tide Gauge Hut.

If you were to leave Westminster Station via the Westminster Pier exit, or made your way down the north steps from Westminster Bridge, you will quite possibly have walked by this odd little green turret without giving it a moment's thought.

However, this copper turret houses some important scientific equipment, which you can see if you peer through one of the two small windows in the door.

Home of the Thames Tide Recorder instruments.

The Tide Recorder measures the depth of the River Thames at Westminster Bridge, or more accurately the mean sea level rather than the river bed, which it then sends to the Thames Barrier Control Room every fifteen minutes. This information is then published online.

Westminster City Council look after the upkeep of the exterior, while the tide reading equipment is maintained by the Environment Agency.

I have yet to discover when it was installed, but it has been in situ since the 1930's.

If anyone can find more information about its construction or when it was installed, I would be most grateful.

Westminster Station

 

Walls like catacombs.

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Most of the Unfinished City's underground stations have unique features or something that stands them apart from the others. The surface stations are different as they were all built to the same standard, although some, which were added later, were designed to stand out.

Supports, staircases & escalators.

My favourite underground station, from the extension of the Jubilee line, is Westminster, which has a uniqueness to it that I have not seen at any other subsurface station. From the giant box that you descend into, to the staircases, escalators and elevators all supported from giant steel pillars, it is like descending into the bowels of the Earth.

Structural supports.

The lighting is just right to show off the skill and workmanship that went in to constructing this behemoth of a station and, considering the depth to which you descend, this station only has four platforms: Circle & District line eastbound, Circle & District line westbound, Jubilee line eastbound & Jubilee line westbound.

'Station Box'