Whitechapel Fatberg Manhole Cover
a monument to the monster fatberg
A specially cast manhole cover in Whitechapel marking where sewer workers battled the monstrous fatberg of 2017.
Free to visit · Whitechapel · Aldgate East · E1 1DU
Opening: Viewable any time
In 2017 sewer workers beneath Whitechapel discovered a horror that made headlines around the world, a fatberg, a vast solid mass of congealed cooking fat, wet wipes and waste, longer than two football pitches and weighing as much as several buses, blocking the Victorian sewers below.
It took weeks of grim labour with shovels and high-pressure jets to clear, and a piece was even displayed in a museum. To commemorate the battle, a specially designed manhole cover was set into the street above, saluting the crews who keep the city's hidden plumbing flowing. It is free to find, a strangely fitting monument to a very modern and very disgusting London legend.
Getting there: On Whitechapel Road near the market, a short walk from Aldgate East.
Best time to go: Daytime, on a walk along Whitechapel Road.
Insider tip: Look down for the distinctive commemorative cover set among the ordinary ones on Whitechapel Road. It is a reminder that the fatberg formed because of what people pour down drains, so spare a thought before tipping fat away.
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