Battersea in South London is best known for its namesake park, the home for cats and dogs, the restored art deco Battersea Power Station, with its 4 towering chimneys, and New Covent Garden, the wholesale market that sells flowers and produce. In the 1980s, before the US embassy moved there from Grosvenor Square in Mayfair, north of the river, and the high-rise towers went up in Nine Elms to attracted wealthy foreign buyers, Battersea was a place of wasteland, sheds, factories, gasholders and warehouses. Peter Marshall was there, walking around and taking photographs.
Studio 39, Cabul Rd, Battersea, 1987
Rank Hovis Ltd, Battersea Church Rd, Battersea, 1989
Goal, Nine Elms Lane, Nine Elms 1982
Tool shop, Northcote Rd, Battersea, 1988
Falcon Rd, Battersea, 1988
Silver Belle Flour, St Mary’s, Old Swan Wharf, Battersea, 1980
Battersea Power Station, Battersea, 1984
Tattoo Parlour, Webbs Rd, Battersea, 1988
Freedom With Anarchy, Aristotle Rd, Clapham, Lambeth. 1980
Battersea Power Station, Battersea, Wandsworth. 198
Battersea Riverside from the Thames, 1983
Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms, 1984
Belleville Rd, Northcote Rd, Battersea, 1988
Kitty Ast, Falcon Rd, Battersea, 1990
Cafe, Nine Elms Lane, Nine Elms, 1982
Marco Polo House, The Observer, Queenstown Rd, Battersea, 1989
Battersea High St, Battersea, 1980
Good Eater Cafe, 1989
Battersea Power Station, Battersea, 1984
St John’s Hill, Battersea, 1988
School, Wix’s Lane, Battersea, 1989
Tapestry of Life, Mural, Christine Thomas, Elspeth Rd, Lavender Hill, Battersea, 1988
Milton Congregational Hall, 21, Cabul Rd, Battersea, 1989
Hairdresser, Northcote Rd, Battersea, 1988
Lavender Hill, Battersea, 1988
Service Centre, Northcote Rd, Battersea, 1988
Demolition in Nine Elms Lane, Battersea, 1983
Scrap Metal Merchants, Lavender Hill, Battersea, 1989
Broughton St, Battersea, 1980
Billiard Hall, Snooker Club, Battersea Rise, Battersea, 1988
Public Convenience, Lavender Hill, Battersea, 1989
Playground, Battersea. 1980
Brian J Reed, Silverline Press, St John’s Hill, Battersea, 1990
The Battersea Barge, River Thames, Nine Elms Lane, Nine Elms, 1989,
Battersea Power Station, Battersea, 1984
Shop, St Peter & St Paul, Church, Flats, Holgate Ave, Plough Rd, Battersea, 1989
Cafe, Battersea Park Rd, Battersea, 1990
Ashbury Rd, Shaftesbury Estate, Battersea, 1989
Battersea Dogs Home, Battersea Park Rd, Battersea, 1989
Notarianni Sons, Battersea High St, Battersea, 1989
South Lambeth Goods Yard and Gas holders, Battersea, 1983
Albion Quay, River Thames, Battersea, 1983
Death to Fascism, Bus Shelter, Battersea, 1980
Venice, Hairdressers, Northcote Rd, Battersea, 1988
All Photos courtesy of Peter Marshall.