The East Greenwich Gas Works was once Europe’s largest gas works. In 1976 production ceased after North Sea Gas was discovered and the plant was mothballed. The works were gradually demolished over the subsequent decades, and the area is being redeveloped.

However, two small sections of the plant’s coaling jetty have been preserved. One is now part of North Greenwich Pier and the other is the base for Antony Gormley’s Quantum Cloud. Each part of the former jetty consists of four cast iron columns, originally installed here in the 1880s.