Whitechapel's Monster Seen At Museum of London

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23 March 2018

The only remaining piece of the enormous fatberg discovered under London’s streets is currently on display at the Museum of London as part of their year-long season, City Now City Future.

Sucked from the Victorian sewers of Whitechapel, the now infamous fatberg will be on show until July 2018.

Having hit the headlines in more than 115 countries, the monster fatberg has become London’s newest celebrity and has fascinated and disgusted people all over the world. The Whitechapel fatberg was one of the largest ever found in London, weighing a colossal 130 tonnes, the equivalent of 11 double decker buses and stretching over 250 metres – six metres longer than Tower Bridge. The foul blockage was a congealed mass of fat, oil, grease, wet wipes and sanitary products.

The existence of this fatberg highlights the pressures fat and modern rubbish are putting on London’s historic infrastructures and is a comment on our increasingly disposable society.

City Now City Future

The Museum of London’s year long season City Now City Future discusses similar issues around modern day living. By the year 2050, over 70% of the world’s population will be living in urban environments. This rapid increase in population places even more pressure on infrastructures. Coined in London, the vivid term ‘fatberg’ is now used by cities throughout the world to draw attention to a common menace.

Biodiesel

Seeking to solve this problem, Thames Water has now converted most of the Whitechapel fatberg into biodiesel, turning a nauseating waste problem into a cleaner-burning, greenhouse gas reducing fuel which will benefit the environment.

Vyki Sparkes, Curator of Social and Working History at the Museum of London, said: "The Whitechapel fatberg will be one of the most fascinating and disgusting objects we have ever had on display. Everything about fatberg is challenging, especially collecting and curating it, but as the Museum of London we cannot shy away from engaging with the challenges this city faces. Our thanks go to Thames Water for working with us and sharing our vision of highlighting these issues."

Sharon Robinson-Calver, Head of Conservation & Collection Care at the Museum of London, said: "It has been a remarkable process working on conserving a section of the fatberg. Obtaining the sample has required a huge amount of ground-breaking work by the museum and we have learned a huge amount. We have worked diligently with industry experts and are continuing our research with further scientific analysis to enable us to be able to display this unusual piece of London’s history."

Stuart White, Media Manager at Thames Water told ThisWeekinFM: "There is definitely something repulsively human about this modern-day monster we helped create - largely through our own excess. At its worst, a fatberg can cause a total blockage and the misery of sewer flooding. This rock-solid chunk in the museum is a vivid reminder to us all that out of sight is not gone forever, so please help keep London flowing - don't feed the fatberg.

Further information about City Now City Future:

www.museumoflondon.org.uk/citynowcityfuture

#CityNowCityFuture

Picture: The Whitechapel Monster Fatberg

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 23 March 2018

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