Twyford Waterworks

Last updated

Twyford Waterworks
Waterworks chimney, Twyford Waterworks, August 2018.jpg
Hampshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Shown in Hampshire
Location Twyford,
Hampshire,
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°1′15.600″N1°17′55.680″W / 51.02100000°N 1.29880000°W / 51.02100000; -1.29880000
Website www.twyfordwaterworks.co.uk

Twyford Waterworks is a preserved pumping station and waterworks situated close to the village of Twyford and the city of Winchester in Hampshire, England. It is a scheduled monument and now operates as a museum. The site is leased by the Twyford Waterworks Trust and is open on selected days during the year. [1] [2]

Contents

The waterworks were originally built for the South Hampshire Water Company in 1898 to supply water to Winchester and Southampton. They were extended over the years, including in 1913 to accommodate a new steam engine and boilers, and again in 1930s. The site passed to the Southern Water Authority in 1974, the year after it had been scheduled as a monument. The redundant parts of the site were leased to the Twyford Waterworks Trust in 1992. [3] [4]

History

The buildings on the site date back to various years between 1898 and 1935, and include the original steam powered pumping station and associated boiler house. These still contain a Hathorn Davey triple expansion steam pumping engine dating from 1914, and three Babcock & Wilcox boilers dating from 1906, 1903 and 1916 respectively. There are also three diesel engines, supplied by Ruston & Hornsby and dating from the 1930s when the plant was updated. The site also encompasses a water softening plant, fed by the pumping engine, and three lime kilns that were used to supply the water softening plant and that were in turn fed by on-site chalk pits. There is also a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge industrial railway, including a rope-hauled inclined plane, used to transport materials around the site. [1] [4] [5]

The borehole that fed the pumping station is still in use and supplies 5,000,000 imperial gallons (23,000,000 L; 6,000,000 US gal) of water every day, but now uses modern submersible electric pumps. The supply is operated by Southern Water who, as the privatised successors to the Southern Water Authority, retain ownership of the site. [1] [5]

The Buildings

The Steam Engine House - The Engine House contains the 1914 Hathorn Davey triple expansion steam engine which could pump up to 11 megalitres of water per day up to the service reservoir.  The well is situated in the adjacent room behind the bricked-up archway. The pitman (which is preserved in the Boiler House) was connected to the crank at the end of the engine and protruded through the archway to operate the well pumps. The engine also drove pumps situated beneath it to pump the water up to the reservoir. The same well provides water today using submersible pumps driven by A.C. electric motors.

The Boiler House - In the original part of the building are two Babcock & Wilcox boilers, one of which was installed in 1906 and was returned to steam in 2018 with the aid of money from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Only four Babcock & Wilcox boilers survive to this day and Twyford has three of them.  Running along the ground in front of the boilers you can see the railway track for the wagons which brought coal to fire them. Now housing the new Discovery Zone is in the 1916 extension to the Boiler House which was built to house the Babcock & Wilcox boiler of 1916. The boiler has been left as a skeleton so that you can see how it was constructed and functioned. [6]

The Lime Kilns - Water pumped from the chalk is termed ‘hard’ water.  From 1903 to 1969, except in time of war, the water supplied from Twyford was softened.  The ‘lime softening process’ used required supplies of quicklime which was made from chalk from the quarry burnt in lime kilns.  The first two kilns were built 1901-1902 and three additional kilns were built to supplement these in 1930. It was a labour intensive process and was an extremely hazardous environment in which to work. [7]

The Filter House - Most of the ‘limescale’ produced by the softening process settled in the softening tank and the rest was removed by the Haines’ patent filters in the tanks on the south side of the filter house.  After filtration the water was pumped up to the service reservoir. On the other side of the central gangway are two small pumping sets typical of private supplies: a Crossley gas engine driving a Climax pump, and a Lister diesel engine driving aTangye pump. The external shape of the building is unusual in that the downside edge of the roof is very close to the ground (because there is no need for windows).

The Mixing House - Here the quicklime produced in the kilns was ‘slaked’ with water to make a dilute solution of calcium hydroxide called ‘lime water’. This was added to the water from the wells in the softening tank and precipitated out most of the calcium carbonate or ‘limescale’ The hydraulic engine which dives the machinery is itself a rare survivor, along with a similar engine which drives the winch to operate the railway incline. [8]

The Diesel House - The increase of the population of the area in the 1920s and 1930s led to a large expansion of the waterworks.  The Diesel House was built to house diesel pumping sets to supplement the steam engines.  It contains two Ruston sets, one to raise water from a new well under the building and one to supply the service reservoir. [9]

The Transfer House - A third pumping set was later added in 1934 to transfer water from Twyford to Yew Hill service reservoir, was delivered before the completion of the diesel house. It was placed in its own ‘temporary’ wooden hut where remains to this day. [9]

The Railway

The railway was built in 1903 to serve the kilns and the boiler house. It was the most efficient way of moving bulk materials such as coal and chalk around the site. Wagons were pushed on the level sections and a water powered winch was installed to haul them up, and lower them down, the incline to the lime kilns.

Wildlife Around the Waterworks

Four acres of downland were enclosed for the construction of the Waterworks in 1898 but the buildings required less than half of the land. Some of the additional space was used to quarry chalk for making lime, some was used to dump waste but about two acres were left, being neither cultivated nor grazed. As a result the site has unusual and valuable parcels of land including scrub, tall grassland and chalk meadow.

The essential base of the wildlife element is the diverse collection of native plants, over 200 species in all, that provide the habitat for butterflies, bumblebees, dragonflies, moles, rabbits, badgers, songbirds, hawks and many other species.

Management of the land is undertaken so that the chalk grassland plant species thrive and particular plants such as nettles, hemp agrimony and ragwort do not become dominant. A pond was installed so that a wider selection of species will use the site.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brede, East Sussex</span> Village in East Sussex, England

Brede is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located eight miles (13 km) north of Hastings and four miles (6 km) west of Rye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blagdon Lake</span> Lake in the United Kingdom

Blagdon Lake lies in a valley at the northern edge of the Mendip Hills, close to the village of Blagdon and approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Bristol, England. The lake was created by Bristol Water, when it dammed the River Yeo, starting construction in 1898, to designs by Charles Hawksley, and completing this in 1905. The Wrington Vale Light Railway was constructed primarily to bring building materials for the lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balmain Power Station</span>

The Balmain Power Station was located at Iron Cove, 4 km (2 mi) from Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The station no longer exists and residential properties now occupy the site. This plant is often confused with the White Bay Power Station, the remains of which are still standing in Rozelle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kempton Park Steam Engines</span> Preserved 1920s triple expansion steam engines

The Kempton Park steam engines are two large triple-expansion steam engines, dating from 1926–1929, at the Kempton Park Waterworks in south-west London. They were ordered by the Metropolitan Water Board and manufactured by Worthington-Simpson in Newark-On-Trent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Museum of Water & Steam</span> Museum in London

London Museum of Water & Steam is an independent museum founded in 1975 as the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It was rebranded in early 2014 following a major investment project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papplewick Pumping Station</span> Historic site in Nottinghamshire, England

Papplewick Pumping Station, situated in open agricultural land approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) by road from the Nottinghamshire village of Papplewick, was built by Nottingham Corporation Water Department between 1881 and 1884 to pump water from the Bunter sandstone to provide drinking water to the City of Nottingham, in England. Two beam engines, supplied with steam by six Lancashire boilers, were housed in Gothic Revival buildings. Apart from changes to the boiler grates, the equipment remained in its original form until the station was decommissioned in 1969, when it was replaced by four submersible electric pumps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Crosby Pumping Station</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Mount Crosby pumping station is a heritage-listed pumping station and weir at Stumers Road, Mount Crosby, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the Brisbane River and extends into Chuwar on the other side of the river. The facility supplies water to Brisbane and nearby cities and towns within the SEQ Water Grid. It was originally designed by Charles H McLay and built from 1891 to 1892. The historic parts of the facility were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 October 2019. It is also listed on the Brisbane Heritage Register, together with numerous associated facilities which were not included in the state heritage listing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Surrey

The Knight Reservoir is a large pumped storage reservoir located in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey. It was inaugurated in 1907 and stores up to 2,180 million litres of raw water abstracted from the River Thames prior to its treatment and supply to London and north Surrey. It is located south of the River Thames, west of West Molesey, and between Hurst Road (A3050) and Walton Road (B369). It is adjacent to, and west of, its twin Bessborough Reservoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London water supply infrastructure</span>

London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanningfield Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Essex, United Kingdom

Hanningfield Reservoir is a large 25,500-million-litre (900,000,000 cu ft) pumped storage reservoir located between Billericay and Chelmsford in Essex. It has a surface area of 352 hectares and is owned and operated by Essex and Suffolk Water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walka Water Works</span> Building in New South Wales, Australia

Walka Water Works is a heritage-listed 19th-century pumping station at 55 Scobies Lane, Oakhampton Heights, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Originally built in 1887 to supply water to Newcastle and the lower Hunter Valley, it has since been restored and preserved and is part of Maitland City Council's Walka Recreation and Wildlife Reserve. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brede Waterworks</span> Waterworks at Brede, East Sussex, England, UK

Brede Waterworks is a waterworks at Brede, East Sussex, England. It was built to supply Hastings with drinking water. The waterworks still houses two of the three stationary steam engines that were used to pump water from Brede to reservoirs at Fairlight and Baldslow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SES Water</span> British water supply company

Sutton and East Surrey Water plc, trading as SES Water, is the UK water supply company to its designated area of east Surrey, West Sussex, west Kent and south London serving in excess of 282,000 homes and businesses and a population of approximately 675,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Nottingham Water Department</span> Former water department responsible for water supply in Nottingham (1880–1974)

The City of Nottingham Water Department (1912–1974), formerly the Nottingham Corporation Water Department (1880–1912), was responsible for the supply of water to Nottingham from 1880 to 1974. The first water supply company in the town was the Nottingham Waterworks Company, established in 1696, which took water from the River Leen, and later from springs at Scotholme, when the river became polluted. Other companies were set up in the late 18th century and in 1824, while in 1826 the Trent Water Company was established. They employed Thomas Hawksley as their engineer, who became one of the great water engineers of the period, and Nottingham had the first constant pressurised water supply system in the country. The various companies amalgamated in 1845, and Hawksley remained as the consulting engineer until 1879.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridge Museum of Technology</span> Industrial heritage museum in Cambridge, England

The Cambridge Museum of Technology is an industrial heritage museum situated in Cambridge, England. The original building, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, housed a combined sewage pumping and waste destructor station built in 1894. The museum helps people to explore, enjoy, and learn about their industrial heritage by celebrating the achievements of local industries and the people who worked in them. The large site on the River Cam has green spaces for picnics and a fun, relaxed atmosphere for families. There are audio-visual displays, hands-on exhibits, and children's activities, as well as traditional museum displays and historic buildings. The Victorian Pumping Station with its original machinery showcases 19th-century engineering and technology. Displays on the forgotten industries of Cambridge reveal an alternative side of the city's history to the famous colleges. And the story is brought into the 20th century with exhibitions on innovative local companies in our new Pye building. Featuring Pye and Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Engineerium</span> Museum in Hove, East Sussex, UK

The British Engineerium is an engineering and steam power museum in Hove, East Sussex. It is housed in the Goldstone Pumping Station, a set of High Victorian Gothic buildings started in 1866. The Goldstone Pumping Station supplied water to the local area for more than a century before it was converted to its present use. The site has been closed to the public since 2006, and in March 2018 the entire complex was put up for sale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tees Cottage Pumping Station</span>

Tees Cottage Pumping Station is a Victorian pumping station complex at Broken Scar on the A67 near Low Coniscliffe just west of Darlington. The site dates from 1849, and was built to provide drinking water for Darlington and the surrounding area. It is a scheduled monument housing two completely original pumping engines in fully working order: a 1904 beam engine, built by Teasdale Brothers of Darlington, which is still steamed using its original 1902 Lancashire boilers; and a rare 1914 two-cylinder gas internal-combustion engine, the largest such engine surviving in Europe. Both engines can be seen in operation on certain weekends through the year, using their original pumps to pump water from the River Tees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cricklewood Pumping Station</span> Water pumping station in St Michaels Road, Cricklewood

Cricklewood Pumping Station was built in 1905 to supply water to London's north west suburbs. It is situated at the eastern extremity of Gladstone Park, Cricklewood and is a locally listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burdekin River Pumping Station</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Burdekin River Pumping Station is a heritage-listed pumping station at Weir Road, Breddan, Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c. 1887 to 1910s. It is also known as Charters Towers Water Supply Scheme. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 July 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goulburn Pumping Station</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Goulburn Pumping Station is a heritage-listed former municipal water supply system and now museum at Wollondilly River, Goulburn, Goulburn Mulwaree Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1885 to 1886. It includes the historic Appleby Steam Engine, which is contained in the pumping station.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Welcome". Twyford Waterworks. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Pumping station, Twyford". Historic England. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "Twyford Waterworks". European Route of Industrial Heritage. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 "History". Twyford Waterworks. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Twyford Waterworks". Southern Water. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  6. ↑ "Boiler House". twyfordwaterworks. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  7. ↑ "Lime Kilns". twyfordwaterworks. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  8. ↑ "Mixing House". twyfordwaterworks. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  9. 1 2 "Diesel House". twyfordwaterworks. Retrieved 2022-10-28.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.