After being decommissioned, this Victorian-era gas works site situated in Bromely-by-Bow has slowly been invaded, or better to say, occupied by nature. Normally, people only see these towering gas holders from the side, which they often appear embedded in the local built environment and become part of the skyline. Yet, when looked from above, people will find a self-sustained and balanced system within:

Foxes wandering in between the Doric and Corinthian columns.

Wild ducks swimming in the serene pond, formerly the water reservoir.

And vegetation growing wildly across this brownfield while mosses carpet the metallic dome inside the frames.

Being the largest group of gas holders known to remain in the world, the site has been listed and not yet transformed. Once the frames become purely decorative elements and the voids are filled with human desires, wild nature will be evicted and along with it the intangible value of this unique architectural grouping.

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The images belong to my aerial photography collection of the London gas holders in their current conditions.