The 19th-century gasworks in Nine Elms, Battersea were built by the Gas Light and Coke Company. In 1952, after lengthy reconstruction following the Second World War damage, a new coal handling plant and jetty were built at Nine Elms to expand the works. Coal continued to be brought to the site directly from the ships on the Thames.
By the late 1950s, the industry was rapidly diminishing. Since many local people worked at the plant, the loss was felt in the community. The once-thriving 20-acre works, which had employed over 800 people, finally closed down in 1970.
Photographer Wolfgang Suschitzky explored working-class neighbourhoods and the effects of the decline of long-established industries such as mining and steel.
