Introduction
Another old Fenland pumping station I have been meaning to visit for quite some time now but I never got around to doing it. Finally decided to visit and commit to the long walk to get to it, turns out the walk wasn’t quite as long as I thought it would be.
Information & History
There isn’t too much information available for this particular station. It only appears on a few sources briefly online and it is one of a few sites which isn’t listed in the KSG Hinde Fenland Pumping Engines book. The building’s purpose was to drain excess water from the Ramsey Mereside fens into the River Nene Old Course and had a catchment area of 297 sq km. The site is owned by the Whittlesey Internal Drainage Board which operates several pumping stations in and around the Whittlesey area.
The Pumping Station marked on old OS Maps
I found this pumping station to be a little different from the others. Rather than housing the usual Ruston and Gwynnes pump setup, this station features a slightly more modern F.R. Lister Diesel engine. This powered an 18” suction pump manufactured by Thomas Smithdale & Sons via a drive belt. A record on The National Archives points to a founding date of Smithdale in 1850 and was based in several different locations including Acle, Norfolk, and Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. It’s not known why a pump of this type was selected and it isn’t one I have seen before. The pumping equipment is housed in a building constructed primarily of corrugated iron, there is also a small extension that looks like it was used for storage. Next to the main building is a small brick hut facing the river which may have been a room for workers, or perhaps just for additional storage.
The Explore
This one turned out to be pretty simple, I parked up on the side of a small private road that leads down to a holiday/caravan park, I then walked to the river and followed the river bank to the station, the walk probably took around 30-40 minutes in total but it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. I was pleased to see the building in its original condition with all equipment still in situ.
Photos
Externally it is a really interesting building. Some stations in The Fens were partially constructed with corrugated iron such as the roofs at Southery and Purl’s Bridge but I don’t believe I have seen a station of this size constructed solely of CI, quite a strange decision.
The hut at the front was largely empty:
Round the back are some concrete/brick plinths for an oil storage tank which has since been removed:
Moving into the pumping station itself, I descended down a small ladder from the opening and looked at the bottom end of the building first including the engine:
In the corner close to the engine is an old workbench with a bench vice attached:
Nothing too exciting hiding in the storage extension:
Two oil tanks are blocking the large iron doors which comprise the main entrance to the building.
To one side, there was an old piece of machinery manufactured by David Brown of England. I was unable to identify this but I am thinking it may be a gearbox for a stationary engine or a pump?
The drive belt is in good condition. I am not sure when the last time the engine/pump would have run but I would imagine it was a good couple of decades ago:
Moving onto a few photos of the pump, this was a pain in the arse to photograph with the harsh low sunlight coming in through the window:
A few water level meters are stored here:
And a few detail shots to conclude:
Thanks for looking!
Another old Fenland pumping station I have been meaning to visit for quite some time now but I never got around to doing it. Finally decided to visit and commit to the long walk to get to it, turns out the walk wasn’t quite as long as I thought it would be.
Information & History
There isn’t too much information available for this particular station. It only appears on a few sources briefly online and it is one of a few sites which isn’t listed in the KSG Hinde Fenland Pumping Engines book. The building’s purpose was to drain excess water from the Ramsey Mereside fens into the River Nene Old Course and had a catchment area of 297 sq km. The site is owned by the Whittlesey Internal Drainage Board which operates several pumping stations in and around the Whittlesey area.
The Pumping Station marked on old OS Maps
I found this pumping station to be a little different from the others. Rather than housing the usual Ruston and Gwynnes pump setup, this station features a slightly more modern F.R. Lister Diesel engine. This powered an 18” suction pump manufactured by Thomas Smithdale & Sons via a drive belt. A record on The National Archives points to a founding date of Smithdale in 1850 and was based in several different locations including Acle, Norfolk, and Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. It’s not known why a pump of this type was selected and it isn’t one I have seen before. The pumping equipment is housed in a building constructed primarily of corrugated iron, there is also a small extension that looks like it was used for storage. Next to the main building is a small brick hut facing the river which may have been a room for workers, or perhaps just for additional storage.
The Explore
This one turned out to be pretty simple, I parked up on the side of a small private road that leads down to a holiday/caravan park, I then walked to the river and followed the river bank to the station, the walk probably took around 30-40 minutes in total but it wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. I was pleased to see the building in its original condition with all equipment still in situ.
Photos
Externally it is a really interesting building. Some stations in The Fens were partially constructed with corrugated iron such as the roofs at Southery and Purl’s Bridge but I don’t believe I have seen a station of this size constructed solely of CI, quite a strange decision.
The hut at the front was largely empty:
Round the back are some concrete/brick plinths for an oil storage tank which has since been removed:
Moving into the pumping station itself, I descended down a small ladder from the opening and looked at the bottom end of the building first including the engine:
In the corner close to the engine is an old workbench with a bench vice attached:
Nothing too exciting hiding in the storage extension:
Two oil tanks are blocking the large iron doors which comprise the main entrance to the building.
To one side, there was an old piece of machinery manufactured by David Brown of England. I was unable to identify this but I am thinking it may be a gearbox for a stationary engine or a pump?
The drive belt is in good condition. I am not sure when the last time the engine/pump would have run but I would imagine it was a good couple of decades ago:
Moving onto a few photos of the pump, this was a pain in the arse to photograph with the harsh low sunlight coming in through the window:
A few water level meters are stored here:
And a few detail shots to conclude:
Thanks for looking!
