Another collection of small places pumping water but not powered by it, in alphabetical order from a folder where they accumulate.
Ashwicke. The pump house appears on maps between 1899 and 1919, near some previously reported hydraulic rams.
Here we have the remains of an electrically driven triple plunger pump next to a reservoir.
The pump is in pieces, with the body looking like an engine block and bits of the electric motor nearby.
It was a Frank Pearn pump according to the label on the ballast tank - a complete example of one of these has appeared in a previous post.
Bouton-on-the-Water 1. This also looks like a Pearn although I didn’t find a label.
It’s much the same setup, a reservoir and pump house, appearing between 1882 and 1910.
The pump, which would originally have been in a hut, was hiding in the undergrowth so some weeding was required.
Bouton-on-the-Water 2. Another one in the Cotswolds, appearing between 1900 and 1920.
It’s a single plunger pump of unknown make with whatever drove it gone completely.
There was too much water to excavate the cylinder part - the green tank on the left was probably the ballast.
Chippenham. The final pump house is on the outskirts of Chippenham - it appears between 1899 and 1921 seems to have pumped water from a boggy area to a reservoir, which is still there.
At first sight it looked empty except for an engine plinth, rubbish, and a family of large and surprisingly fearless rats.
The pump was at the bottom of a well at the back with a slot for a drive belt angling down next to the plinth.
It’s a complete Tangye (or Tangyes) triple plunger pump - the only other one I’ve come across was in pieces.
Tangyes made all sorts of equipment after famously providing the hydraulic jacks to finally launch Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, and the brand name is still going today.
The last picture (not mine) is a restored example in a museum in Wales.
Ashwicke. The pump house appears on maps between 1899 and 1919, near some previously reported hydraulic rams.
Here we have the remains of an electrically driven triple plunger pump next to a reservoir.
The pump is in pieces, with the body looking like an engine block and bits of the electric motor nearby.
It was a Frank Pearn pump according to the label on the ballast tank - a complete example of one of these has appeared in a previous post.
Bouton-on-the-Water 1. This also looks like a Pearn although I didn’t find a label.
It’s much the same setup, a reservoir and pump house, appearing between 1882 and 1910.
The pump, which would originally have been in a hut, was hiding in the undergrowth so some weeding was required.
Bouton-on-the-Water 2. Another one in the Cotswolds, appearing between 1900 and 1920.
It’s a single plunger pump of unknown make with whatever drove it gone completely.
There was too much water to excavate the cylinder part - the green tank on the left was probably the ballast.
Chippenham. The final pump house is on the outskirts of Chippenham - it appears between 1899 and 1921 seems to have pumped water from a boggy area to a reservoir, which is still there.
At first sight it looked empty except for an engine plinth, rubbish, and a family of large and surprisingly fearless rats.
The pump was at the bottom of a well at the back with a slot for a drive belt angling down next to the plinth.
It’s a complete Tangye (or Tangyes) triple plunger pump - the only other one I’ve come across was in pieces.
Tangyes made all sorts of equipment after famously providing the hydraulic jacks to finally launch Brunel’s SS Great Eastern, and the brand name is still going today.
The last picture (not mine) is a restored example in a museum in Wales.
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