Vitriol Furnace, Battersea Fields

Watercolours by an unknown artist depicting a Vitriol Furnace, Battersea Fields. 1797.

This rural-industrial scene shows a stone furnace with a conical roof and chimney, likely used in the production of vitriol (sulphuric acid). The smaller adjacent building may have served as a workshop or storage area. In the background, a windmill and other structures.

This site in Battersea Fields was home to one of several vitriol furnaces operating in the area during the 19th century. Peter Pariss & Son ran a prominent chemical works here, producing sulphuric acid, then known as oil of vitriol. The acid was vital to industries such as metalworking, bleaching, and dyeing.

Battersea’s riverside location and cheap land made it ideal for chemical manufacturing. By the mid-1800s, the area had become a hub for noxious industries, with vitriol works, paint and pigment factories, and soap makers clustering along the Thames. These furnaces were part of a broader industrial landscape that defined Battersea’s transformation from rural parish to manufacturing powerhouse.