Introduction
Another lovely little pumping station I’ve now visited twice. Wasn’t happy with my first lot of pics due to the glaring sun so went back with @JakeV50 last month to reshoot as we were in the area.
Information & History
I’ve found it very difficult to pull any sort of historical information about this site online. I think it may have been used for local water supply as opposed to land drainage like most of the other stations I have visited. It’s strange how there’s no info, it doesn’t even appear on old OS Maps! Bikin Glynn originally came across this one. It does make me wonder what other little hidden gems are out there. The building itself is located just outside of the village of Apethorpe, hidden around a selection of trees alongside Willow Brook which is a tributary of the River Nene.
The pumps were initially powered by a small Blackstone Diesel engine, model OP. Looking at similar examples online I would guess that this engine was capable of producing around 20 horsepower. The power would’ve originally been delivered to the pumps via a drive belt. In previous reports the belt itself was intact but unfortunately, it is now lying on the floor. The pump house would’ve later had access to electricity given that electric motors were fitted to each pump. The pumps are of the hydraulic ram type and were engineered and manufactured by London-based Hayward Tyler & Co., which was founded in 1815. Other features within the building include a water tank, presumably for cooling the engine, an external oil tank, a very small control panel on the wall, and a workbench.
The structure appears to be constructed of mainly local materials with a wooden roof and chimney for the extraction of diesel fumes. The roof has now almost completely collapsed and the entire structure is in very poor condition.
The Explore
We found parking nearby and headed through a gap in the hedgerow and walked towards the building on the edge of a field. It is a shame to see the roof has caved in even further since our visit last year, but it is inevitable really. There was a lot of wood laying on the engine and elsewhere so we had to do a little bit of cleaning up in order to get better shots of all the equipment. I probably spent around an hour or so getting pics, it was a pain using the tripod in there due to most of the roof being loose on the floor. It is definitely a place I’ll check up on in a couple of years or so just for curiosity's sake.
Onto the photos, starting with a quick external. The wooden ladder outside still hasn’t moved!
Heading on in, you are greeted with the two pumps side by side:
One of two electric motors:
A couple of overview shots of the building, you can see how bad the roof is now:
The old Blackstone engine with the table and tank behind:
An old style lightswitch that's now just hanging freely:
Finishing off with part of the small control panel/switchboard mounted to the wall:
Thanks for looking.
Another lovely little pumping station I’ve now visited twice. Wasn’t happy with my first lot of pics due to the glaring sun so went back with @JakeV50 last month to reshoot as we were in the area.
Information & History
I’ve found it very difficult to pull any sort of historical information about this site online. I think it may have been used for local water supply as opposed to land drainage like most of the other stations I have visited. It’s strange how there’s no info, it doesn’t even appear on old OS Maps! Bikin Glynn originally came across this one. It does make me wonder what other little hidden gems are out there. The building itself is located just outside of the village of Apethorpe, hidden around a selection of trees alongside Willow Brook which is a tributary of the River Nene.
The pumps were initially powered by a small Blackstone Diesel engine, model OP. Looking at similar examples online I would guess that this engine was capable of producing around 20 horsepower. The power would’ve originally been delivered to the pumps via a drive belt. In previous reports the belt itself was intact but unfortunately, it is now lying on the floor. The pump house would’ve later had access to electricity given that electric motors were fitted to each pump. The pumps are of the hydraulic ram type and were engineered and manufactured by London-based Hayward Tyler & Co., which was founded in 1815. Other features within the building include a water tank, presumably for cooling the engine, an external oil tank, a very small control panel on the wall, and a workbench.
The structure appears to be constructed of mainly local materials with a wooden roof and chimney for the extraction of diesel fumes. The roof has now almost completely collapsed and the entire structure is in very poor condition.
The Explore
We found parking nearby and headed through a gap in the hedgerow and walked towards the building on the edge of a field. It is a shame to see the roof has caved in even further since our visit last year, but it is inevitable really. There was a lot of wood laying on the engine and elsewhere so we had to do a little bit of cleaning up in order to get better shots of all the equipment. I probably spent around an hour or so getting pics, it was a pain using the tripod in there due to most of the roof being loose on the floor. It is definitely a place I’ll check up on in a couple of years or so just for curiosity's sake.
Onto the photos, starting with a quick external. The wooden ladder outside still hasn’t moved!
Heading on in, you are greeted with the two pumps side by side:
One of two electric motors:
A couple of overview shots of the building, you can see how bad the roof is now:
The old Blackstone engine with the table and tank behind:
An old style lightswitch that's now just hanging freely:
Finishing off with part of the small control panel/switchboard mounted to the wall:
Thanks for looking.
