Stacks of power for the people dwarfed Portsmouth cathedral

We have all become used to the Spinnaker Tower looming over the most historic area of Portsmouth, hardly giving it a second glance these days.

But it’s hard to believe that only a few short years ago an enormous power station with two 300ft high chimneys dominated the Old Portsmouth skyline dwarfing the cathedral.

Crews of any inward-coming ships would know they were soon to be home after sighting these giants from the horizon.

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Opened in June 1894 and disconnected on March 20, 1977, the power station had worked non-stop for 83 years including through two world wars. The two chimneys were taken down, brick by brick during 1981 and the main building in 1983. Today it is almost impossible to conceive it existed.

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