Little did he know then that it was the start of a long-term connection with the Victorian sewage treatment plant.
In the late 1940s, Peter earned pocket money by helping his cousin, milkman Alfie Johns, during the school holidays. With Thamesmead still almost two decades from being built, there were very few people around. That meant the route to Crossness was a chance for the teenager to hop into the driver’s seat.
“I got two shillings and six pence for helping him,” explains Peter, now aged 88. “We used to deliver milk to Crossness, and because the roads were all deserted in those days, he used to let me drive the truck. That was the main attraction!”
Memories of the milk round came flooding back when a friend invited Peter to visit Crossness around 18 years ago. He didn’t initially see the appeal of a trip to the old sewage works. But the invitation to revisit the incredible 19th century architecture and engineering of the Grade I-listed building proved to be an important one.
“I was looking for something to do in my retirement, and I’ve been there ever since,” says Peter, who worked locally as a painter, decorator and builder for more than 50 years. “When I first started volunteering, I was helping to clear the sand out from under the engines, then getting the rust off the cast ironwork and painting it.
“We also built the canteen, so I was able to do the plastering, hang doors and things like that. I’ve also done a lot of the carpentry, including building the counters for the shop and the cafe, and the reception desk.”
Peter’s enthusiasm for Crossness has stood the test of time as he approaches his third decade at the ‘cathedral on the marshes’.
“When I first started, I was doing three days a week, and I was waiting for the gate to be opened in the mornings,” says Peter. “Now I’m a bit older, I do Tuesday and Friday mornings.
“If I don’t go to Crossness, a week seems like a fortnight. It’s therapy, as much as anything.
“I look forward to the open days. I meet a lot of people from Abbey Wood – you can recall the old days more than you can last week! There’s also the pleasure of saying to people, ‘I did this, I did that.’”
Find out more about volunteering opportunities at Crossness Pumping Station.
