1. The History
This borehole and pumping station is located north-west of the Leicestershire village of Waltham-on-the-Wolds. The borehole drilled through blue clay and limestone to a depth of 35ft with a diameter of 4 foot 6 inches. It was sunk by Wakes and Lamb of Newark in June 1954 and reached the water table at a depth of 18ft. It was pumped out of the borehole using a Beresford 13 BHP pump that could pump 3,000 gallons per hour.
2. The Explore
So all credit for this has to go to @mingerocket for finding this in the first place and secondly making a tunnel through approximately 6ft of brambles. Cheers mate. It’s hard to add anything pictorially as his excellent report is very thorough plus it is a very small place.
It was a nice walk over to the pumping house along the former GNR Waltham branch line off the Bottesford to Melton Mowbray line, which ended at the former Waltham station. Externally, it is nothing more a small brick building surrounded by brambles. Internally, though, it is extremely interesting. The two cabinets full of switch and control gear facilitated the extraction of water via two submersible pumps. The set-up may have been the work of the local water authority installed to feed a small reservoir which in turn fed local properties in the surrounding area. Documents held at the British Geological Survey indicate the borehole was sunk in 1954 and was tested in 1960.
3. The Photographs
On the way up:
Nothing special from the outside:
Automatic control changeover switch gear for the two pumps:
Water flow control stop-cocks:
The Beresford Submersible Electric pumps:
The right-hand pump:
Detail of the pumps thermal overload relay:
The Evershed Noflote control:
The all-important Auto/Hand/Off switch:
Pump maker’s plate with pump specification details:
More close-ups:
A wall-mounted gauge of some type:
And back out again:
This borehole and pumping station is located north-west of the Leicestershire village of Waltham-on-the-Wolds. The borehole drilled through blue clay and limestone to a depth of 35ft with a diameter of 4 foot 6 inches. It was sunk by Wakes and Lamb of Newark in June 1954 and reached the water table at a depth of 18ft. It was pumped out of the borehole using a Beresford 13 BHP pump that could pump 3,000 gallons per hour.
2. The Explore
So all credit for this has to go to @mingerocket for finding this in the first place and secondly making a tunnel through approximately 6ft of brambles. Cheers mate. It’s hard to add anything pictorially as his excellent report is very thorough plus it is a very small place.
It was a nice walk over to the pumping house along the former GNR Waltham branch line off the Bottesford to Melton Mowbray line, which ended at the former Waltham station. Externally, it is nothing more a small brick building surrounded by brambles. Internally, though, it is extremely interesting. The two cabinets full of switch and control gear facilitated the extraction of water via two submersible pumps. The set-up may have been the work of the local water authority installed to feed a small reservoir which in turn fed local properties in the surrounding area. Documents held at the British Geological Survey indicate the borehole was sunk in 1954 and was tested in 1960.
3. The Photographs
On the way up:
Nothing special from the outside:
Automatic control changeover switch gear for the two pumps:
Water flow control stop-cocks:
The Beresford Submersible Electric pumps:
The right-hand pump:
Detail of the pumps thermal overload relay:
The Evershed Noflote control:
The all-important Auto/Hand/Off switch:
Pump maker’s plate with pump specification details:
More close-ups:
A wall-mounted gauge of some type:
And back out again:
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