Eastney Beam Engine House is a Grade II -listed Victorian engine house in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England. Dating from 1887, it contains two 150 hp James Watt & Co. beam engines. The pumps were built as part of a plan to improve

's sewage system. The other element of the plan was large holding tanks which held the sewage until the pumps could empty them into the

ebb tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tabl ...

. The pumps have since been superseded by advancing technology but have been restored (in 1980). The restoration was funded by grants totalling £10,066 from Portsmouth city council, £4000 from Hampshire county council and £2000 from the Department of the Environment. The Engine House is now open to the public as a museum, owned by

Portsmouth City Council Portsmouth City Council is the local authority of the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government s ...

(Museums Service) but operated by volunteers; consequently is only open on the last weekend in every month.

References

External links

Portsmouth City Museums: Eastney Beam Engine HousePhoto gallery of interior detail views
Preserved beam engines Museums in Portsmouth Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire Steam museums in England Articles containing video clips Former pumping stations {{UK-museum-stub