The pumping station viewed from the canal; showing tunnel under railway, boilerhouse, enginehouse and chimney

Wilton Water, the canal and railway from the pumping station

The boilerhouse

The beam gallery with the 1812 engine in operation

Crofton Pumping Station is a pumping station, located near the village of Great Bedwyn in the English county of Wiltshire, which supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. Download high resolution version (720x789, 146 KB)Crofton Pumping Station, viewed from the canalside and showing from top to bottom, tunnel under the railway line, boiler house, engine house and chimney. ... Download high resolution version (720x789, 146 KB)Crofton Pumping Station, viewed from the canalside and showing from top to bottom, tunnel under the railway line, boiler house, engine house and chimney. ... Wilton Water, canal and railway line from Crofton Pumping Station. ... Wilton Water, canal and railway line from Crofton Pumping Station. ... Download high resolution version (745x719, 104 KB)The boilers at Crofton Pumping Station. ... Download high resolution version (745x719, 104 KB)The boilers at Crofton Pumping Station. ... Download high resolution version (751x720, 112 KB)The beam gallery at Crofton Pumping Station, with the 1812 engine in use. ... Download high resolution version (751x720, 112 KB)The beam gallery at Crofton Pumping Station, with the 1812 engine in use. ... Pumping stations are buildings designed to hold pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. ... Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in the east of the English county of Wiltshire. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Inter. ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... A canal pound is the stretch of level water impounded between two canal locks. ... The Kennet and Avon Canal at Brass-Knocker-Bottom near Bath The Kennet and Avon Canal is a canal in southern England. ...

The original steam powered pumping station is preserved and still operates on selected weekends; it contains one of the oldest operational Watt style beam engines in the world, dating from 1812. In physical chemistry and in engineering, steam refers to vaporized water. ... Diagram of the Watt Steam Engine in its most basic form showing the improvement of the separate condenser, which was not found on the Newcomen steam engine. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Description

When the canal was built, there were no reliable water sources available to fill the summit by normal gravitational means. However a set of usable springs were found adjacent to the canal route about one mile (2 km) east of the summit pound, and about 40 feet (12 m) below it. Arrangements were made for these springs to feed the pound below lock 60 at Crofton. Some years later a reservoir (Wilton Water) was created to enhance the supply to this pound, and this can now be seen across the canal from the pumping station. A natural spring. ... Canal locks in England. ... A reservoir is an artificial lake created by flooding land behind a dam. ...

Water from below lock 60 was taken by a culvert to the foot of a well sunk from the location of the pumping station, which is situated on the hillside more than 40 feet (12 m) above the canal. The pumps then pump this water out of the well, and discharge it into a feeder channel adjacent to the pumping station. The water then flows along this channel under the force of gravity until it reaches the summit pound about one mile to the west. A culvert is a flowing body of water which passes underneath a road, railway, or embankment, or the part thereof that does so. ... For the Scottish football team, see Motherwell F.C. The Whole Earth Lectronic Link (or The WELL) is one of the oldest virtual communities still online. ... Gravity is the force of attraction between massive particles. ...

For day to day operation, the pumping station now uses electric pumps, automatically controlled by the water level in the summit pound. However the original steam driven pumping equipment has been preserved and is still operational. A single Lancashire boiler provides steam to one or both of two beam engines.

Number 1 engine, built by Boulton and Watt in 1812, is a single acting, condensing engine with a bore of 42.25 inches (1073 mm), a stroke of 7 feet (2134 mm) and indicated power of 38.6 horsepower (28.8 kW). It drives a 30 inch (762 mm) lift pump that is capable of lifting 2274 lb (1031 kg) or approximately one ton of water per stroke, at a rate of 11 strokes per minute. The firm of Boulton and Watt, a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt, made steam engines at their Soho Foundry in Smethwick, near Birmingham, England. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Number 2 engine, built by Harvey and Co. of Hayle in 1846 and rebuilt in 1903, is a single acting, condensing engine with a bore of 42 inches (1067 mm), a stroke of 7 feet 8 inches (2337 mm) and indicated power of 42 horsepower (31 kW). It drives a 30 inch (762 mm) force pump that is capable of lifting 2235 pounds (1014 kg) or approximately one ton of water per stroke, at a rate of 10.2 strokes per minute. Location within the British Isles Hayle (Cornish: Heyl) is a small town in Cornwall, United Kingdom. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

An interesting feature of the pumping station is that when the Great Western Railway built its railway line through the area, it passed very close to the station and between it and the canal. Access between the canal side and the pumping station is now via a very low roofed tunnel. The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ...

History

The pumping station was built between 1807 and 1809 in time for the opening of the canal in 1810. The station was built to accommodate two pumping engines, but only one, a 36 inch (914 mm) bore engine bought second hand from the West India Dock Company, was initially installed. 1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1810 a second engine was ordered from Boulton and Watt. This engine, which started work in 1812, is the current number 1 engine, and has been the main engine throughout the steam driven life of the station. 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1846 the original 1809 engine was replaced with a new engine supplied by Harvey and Company and built as a double-acting Sims patent combined cylinder engine. However this engine proved troublesome and eventually fell into disuse. 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1903 the 1846 engine was rebuilt as a simple single acting engine and thus became the current number 2 engine. Both engines then continued in regular use until the 1950s, when the state of the chimney forced the removal of the top 36 feet (11 m). The reduced height chimney was unable to provide sufficient draught, and it proved cheaper to retire the steam engines and install electric pumps. 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the the baby boom from returning GIs who...

In 1968 the pumping station was purchased by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust with restoration in mind. The building and both engines were restored, and the unrepairable boiler replaced with another of the same type acquired second hand. Number 1 engine was first successfully steamed on April 4th, 1970 and the pumping station officially reopened on the August 21st of the same year by John Betjeman. Number 2 engine was first successfully steamed on November 15th, 1971. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Sir John Betjeman (28 August 1906 – 19 May 1984) was a British poet and writer on architecture. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

Initially the problem of the shortened chimney was overcome by the use of an electric fan to improve draught, however between 1996 and 1997 the chimney was repaired and restored to its full original height of 82 feet (25 m). 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Visiting

The pumping station is open to visitors every day in summer. The engines are steamed on selected weekends throughout that period, and can be viewed in operation. The 'Crofton Beam Engines' website (below) carries admission details.

Location

Position: grid reference SU262622 The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ...

Nearby towns and cities: Hungerford, Marlborough, Newbury, Swindon For other uses, see: Hungerford (disambiguation) Hungerford is a market town by the River Kennet in the English county of Berkshire. ... Marlborough is a market town in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. ... Newbury is the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in the United Kingdom. ... Swindon is a large town located in the South West of England, in the county of Wiltshire. ...

Nearby villages: Great Bedwyn, Wilton, East Grafton, Burbage Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in the east of the English county of Wiltshire. ... Grafton is a village and civil parish in the east of the English county of Wiltshire. ... Grafton is a village and civil parish in the east of the English county of Wiltshire. ... Burbage is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in the English county of Wiltshire. ...

Nearby places of interest: Wilton Windmill The Wilton windmill is a five floor brick tower mill with a round house located near the villages of Wilton and Great Bedwyn in the southern English county of Wiltshire. ...

See also

• Claverton Pumping Station, another restored pumping station on the Kennet and Avon canal.

Claverton Pumping Station is a pumping station, located at Claverton in the English county of Somerset, which pumps water from the River Avon to the Kennet and Avon Canal using power from the flow of the Avon. ...

External links

• Crofton Beam Engines Website
• Crofton's page at the Kennet and Avon Trust's Website

Resources

• Booklet 'Crofton Pumping Station' edition 2, printed by ESP Color Ltd in 2001, no explicit publisher or copyright details but believed to be published by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. Obtained from the Crofton Pumping Station in 2004.