Construction, which included the piling and landfilling of the marshy riverside, took several years, starting in 1957 and continuing until 1965 – although the first generator was commissioned in 1962.

[1] The five boilers were built by Babcock & Wilcox and were unusual being open to the elements and were originally designed to burn pulverised coal.

[4] The closure left a stockpile of nearly half a million tonnes of coal, which was transported downstream to the nearby Tilbury Power Station by Rhine barge.

A proposal to build a large postal sorting office on the former fly-ash lagoons proved controversial due to the wildlife that had colonised the site.

An unusual feature of the site is the northern end of the pair of 192-metre tall pylons supporting the 400 kV link across the river Thames.