Category: pumping engine

The Industrial Sites Saved as Historic England Publishes 2025 Heritage At Risk Register

The Industrial Sites Saved as Historic England Publishes 2025 Heritage At Risk Register

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Historic England has published the 2025 Heritage at Risk Register. There are 4,891 entries on the Register which covers archaeology, battlefields, buildings and structures, conservation areas, parks and gardens, places of worship, and wrecks. This year, 129 buildings and gardens were taken off the list for positive reasons such as grant funding and/or being repaired. However, 138 were added. 12 of the sites taken off the register are industrial structures.

Claudia Kenyatta CBE and Emma Squire CBE, Co-CEOs of Historic England, said: “The heritage we see all around us impacts how we feel about our local places. The annual Heritage at Risk Register gives us the opportunity to celebrate the many benefits of bringing our historic buildings back into use.”

“The best way to protect our buildings is to reuse them, turning them into places of local connection and joy. The sites that have been saved and have come off the Register this year really highlight the benefits of working together in partnership, and with communities, to create positive, sustainable change. Together we can safeguard our heritage for future generations.”

Industrial sites removed from the ‘At Risk Register’ include:

  • Augill Smelting Mill, North Pennines
  • Bower Spring cementation furnace, Sheffield
  • Etherley Incline, Stockton & Darlington Railway, County Durham 
  • No. 7 Bottle Shop, St Helens
  • Long Shop Museum, Leiston
  • John Taylor & Co Bell Foundry, Loughborough
  • Kingston Telephone Exchange, Ashdown Road, Kingston upon Thames
  • Newland Blast Furnace (Blacking Mill only) in Egton with Newland
  • Papplewick Pumping Station, Nottingham
  • Rockingham Kiln (Swinton Pottery), South Yorkshire
  • Temple Works Gatelodge, Leeds
  • The Triangular Crane and Bumble Hole Boat Yard in Netherton

Industrial sites added to the ‘At Risk Register’ include:

  • Cromford Mills Buildings 26 and 21 (cottages)
  • Teesside Transporter Bridge 

The full updated list for 2025 can be found here: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/heritage-at-risk/findings/

Guidance on adding a site to the Herrtitage At Risk Register can be found here: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/heritage-at-risk/suggest-addition-to-har-register/

The Rockingham Kiln (Swinton Pottery), South Yorkshire, has been removed from the ‘At Risk Register’ in 2025. Image courtesy of Historic England.
The Teesside Transporter Bridge was added to the ‘At Risk Register’ in 2025. Image courtesy of Historic England.
Sandfields Pumping Station Receives Heritage Engineering Award

Sandfields Pumping Station Receives Heritage Engineering Award

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The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has awarded Sandfields Pumping Station, run by the Lichfield Waterworks Trust, with one of its Heritage Engineering Awards. This prestigious honour celebrates Sandfields’ vital role in bringing clean water to the Black Country and advancing public health during Britain’s industrial period.

John Wood, chairman of the IMechE Heritage Awards committee noted that: “Sandfields Pumping Station is not just another pumping station”, whlst Katy Shore-Kapsis, chair of the Lichfield Waterworks Trust, added: “This award is a huge honour for Sandfields and for everyone who has dedicated time and passion to keeping its legacy alive.

The plaque, unveiled in October 2025 by Matt Garside President of the IMechE, reads: “The Sandfields Pumping Station was the first built for the South Staffordshire Waterworks Company to provide clean water to the industrial towns of the Black Country. The Cornish beam engine, operational from 1873 to 1927, could pump up to 2 million gallons of water per day.”

The Lichfield Waterworks Trust now cares for the site and its volunteers carry out restoration projects as well as running guided tours and educational programmes. They are currently raising funds to get the Cornish Pumping Engine working again. Further details here: https://lichfieldwaterworkstrust.co.uk/

Sandfields Pumping Station, Litchfield. Image courtesy of Litchfield Waterworks Trust.

Small Grants Available in 2025 for Industrial Heritage Museums & Sites

Small Grants Available in 2025 for Industrial Heritage Museums & Sites

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The dealines for several grant streams suitable for Industrial Heritage museums and sites occur in early 2025. To catch up with what is available for industrial heritage sites and museums explore the following websites.

Foyle Foundation Small Grants The Small Grants Scheme is provided by the Foyle Foundation to support smaller, grass-roots, and local charities in the UK with projects that have the potential to make a significant difference to their work. Grants range from £2k to £10k and the closing date for applications is 31 January. Find outr mor eby followign this link: https://foylefoundation.org.uk/how-to-apply/small-grants-scheme-guidelines/

The Heritage Alliance, whilst not a funding body in itself, co-manages the Heritage Funding Directory  with the Architectural Heritage Fund. This free resource for the sector includes a directory listing funding sources for heritage projects across the UK (and internationally), and includes some helpful guidance on fundraising.  It is regularly updated, so its worth visiting regularly.

Finally, the Association for Industrial Archaeology runs several annual grant and award schemes specifically for industrial archaeology and heritage, with closing dates at the end of January and the end of March. Follow this link for further details: https://industrial-archaeology.org/aia-awards/

London Museum of Water & Steam Need Public’s Help to Raise Final Funds for Engine Project

London Museum of Water & Steam Need Public’s Help to Raise Final Funds for Engine Project

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The London Museum of Water and Steam are running an urgent appeal to raise the final funds for ‘The Great Engine House Project’ which ains to restore the Grade 1 listed Great Engine House. This is home to the gigantic Grand Junction 100 Inch and 90 Inch engines.

They have already been promised a funding grant for the entire project of £2.8 million, but they will need to raise a percentage of the grant by crowdfunding £50,000 by mid-August. So far, the London Musum of Water and Steam have raised over £17,000 through their crowdfunder, but are struggling to raise the target by the grant deadline.

To contibute to the fund raiser follow the link here.

Unless work is undertaken in the next two years to stop the decay of the Engine House, then these historically significant engines could be be lost, and central parts of the museum building will have to be closed. The project aims to return the 90 inch engine to steam, which will make the Museum more financially resilient by vastly enhancing the Museum’s visitor experience. 

The museum is housed in a Georgian water pumping station in Brentford, West London, and was built around a collection of stationary steam engines which pumped clean water into the homes of millions of Londoners between 1838 and 1944. For more details about the museum follow this link: https://waterandsteam.org.uk/

90 Inch engine levers. Image courtesy of London Museum of Steam & Water.

Sandfields Pumping Station Engine Appeal

Sandfields Pumping Station Engine Appeal

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The Lichfield Waterworks Trust has launched an online appeal to restore the magnificent Cornish Pumping Engine at Sandfields Pumping Station. The engine is currently seized solid after not moving for many decades. However, whilst the Lichfield Waterworks Trust have the expertice to to repair the engine they need money for materials and a means to move the engine.

Lichfield Waterworks Trust is a group of volunteers dedicated to preserving Sandfields Pumping Station with its fascinating history and unique Victorian Pumping Engine. The Trust aims to open access to the Sandfields Pumping Station for public use, including education, arts performance, and community development. At the heart of this public access will be the pumping engine. This engine is one of only four left in the entire country. Built by Jonah & George Davies in Tipton and installed in 1873, it worked for 50 years, pumping clean water to the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution to help eradicate Cholera. The engine was taken out of service in 1927 and has not moved for almost 100 years. 

You can help them restore the engine by donating through their Crowdfunder page by following this link:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/lichfield-waterworks-trust-1160876

The Great Engine House Project: London Museum of Water & Steam

The Great Engine House Project: London Museum of Water & Steam

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The London Museum of Water and Steam (LMWS) has launched a funding appeal for its ‘Great Engine House Project’. The Great Engine House is home to the Grand Junction 100 Inch and the 90 Inch beam engines which pumped clean water into the homes of millions of Londoners between 1838 and 1944. 

The Museum is based in a Georgian water pumping station in Brentford, West London, and is home to a large collection of steam engines. Described by DCMS as “the most important historic site of the water supply industry in Britain” the LMWS shares the history, science, and the stories behind London’s public water supply.

Now it needs public help to preserve this internationally important collection. The Museum has a funding and maintenance backlog due to the COVID lockdowns and lack of funds for expensive scaffolding. The Grade I listed Engine House and the two huge beam engines it contains have all suffered significant degredation over the last few years.

The ‘Great Engine House Project’ aims to return the engine house to a watertight state, remove damaging past repairs, conserve the engines and improve their environmental conditions, improve accessibility, remove any materials containing asbestos, and reduce carbon emissions from running the engines.

To donate follow this link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/great-engine-house

Crofton Beam Engines Given Grant to Expand Children’s Activities

Crofton Beam Engines Given Grant to Expand Children’s Activities

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Crofton Beam Engines has secured a grant of £6,120 from the Association of Independent Museums under its ‘New Stories New Audiences’ programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their ‘Crofton for Kids’ project. The grant will fund the development and production of a class set of working models of the pumping station, buildable by children and designed by volunteers.

Visiting groups of children will visit the station to learn how it works. They will be helped to build the models and will then work in small groups to create short videos about the station. These videos will be made accessible to visitors to the station through the use of QR codes, taking advantage of the intranet installed around the site.

Whitney Cawley, the Learning and Community Engagement Officer at Crofton Beam Engines said: “This is an exciting opportunity to develop our activities with children. We have already signed up three local schools to work with us, and are talking to others. We will then be able to use the models created as part of the project in our existing learning sessions and incorporate them into a more regular family workshop which we hope to offer throughout the year”. Graham Snook, a Trustee and Chairman of the Crofton Branch, said: “This grant recognises the value of the work we are doing at Crofton to develop our learning and engagement programme. We are grateful to the Association of Independent Museums for their continuing support to small museums such as Crofton Beam Engines.”

The New Stories New Audiences programme is designed to support small museums to stay relevant to their audiences and to increase their impact by identifying new stories and by working with a new partner, to work differently and to try something new.

Crofton Beam Engines is owned by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, a registered charity. It is managed by the Crofton Branch of the Trust. For more information follow this link: https://www.croftonbeamengines.org/

Claverton Pumping Station Appeals for Funding Support

Claverton Pumping Station Appeals for Funding Support

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Claverton Pumping Station is preparing for more flooding over the coming winter months and is appealing for funds. The volunteer-run museum lies just outside Bath, where a group maintains the Grade I listed pumping station, dating from 1813.

Using a water-wheel, the station pumps 100,000 gallons of water an hour into the Kennet & Avon Canal to keep it topped up from the nearby River Avon. Unfortunately, as the pumping station is built next to the river the site floods on a yearly basis. From October-March, the lowest floor needs to be cleared to minimise any flood damage. With little space in the pumphouse itself the group relies on an outbuilding to store signs, benches, and parts of machines for the winter. The outbuildings are up the bank from the pumphouse, thus getting them away from all but the worst floods. However, their largest outbuilding has all but collapsed. They are looking to raise £2,500 towards helping the group to build a strong raised outbuilding that can survive even the worst floods. This new winter storage will help keep the pumping station preserved for future generations.

Details on how to donate can be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/claverton-pumping-station

Claverton pumping engine.

Crofton Beam Engines Boiler Repair Appeal

Crofton Beam Engines Boiler Repair Appeal

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Crofton Beam Engines is one of a handful of sites in England which still runs its stationary beam engines on steam and still performs its original function in its original location. Built over 200 years ago it keeps the top levels of the Kennet and Avon Canal supplied with water.

The two engines and engine house are maintained by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust and run by dedicated volunteers bringing a wide range of skills to keep Crofton steaming. Although entry charges meet many of their day-to-day costs, the Charity needs to fundraise to meet the cost of major repairs and projects.

The boiler at Crofton is inspected annually to make sure that it is safe to operate. A full survey was undertaken in May 2021 to identify all the work likely to be needed to enable the boiler to continue in operation for the next ten years. If the Charity is to keep the engines in steam during 2022 and beyond, then essential maintenance is needed on the boiler this winter. This will cost around £30,000 and should secure the future of the boiler for a decade. With the impact of COVID still being felt, the charity has launched an appeal to help raise these funds.

For details on how to donate follow the link here: https://www.croftonbeamengines.org/boiler-appeal-2021/

Crofton Beam Engines