The Hydraulic engine house is part of the " Underfall Yard" in

Bristol Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out perm ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A ''regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, wh ...

al brick and

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are t ...

of the engine house dates from 1888, and is grade II* listed, as is the hydraulic engine house itself. It replaced the original pumping house which is now

The Pump House ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

. It is built of red brick with a slate roof and originally contained two

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be ...

s made by the Worthington Corporation. These were compound surface condensing cylinders of diameter. These were replaced in 1907 by the current machines from Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay of Paisley. It powered the docks'

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

system of cranes, bridges and locks until 2010. Water is pumped from the harbour to a header tank and then fed by gravity to the high pressure pumps, where it is pressurised thence raising the external

hydraulic accumulator A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which an incompressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source of mechanical energy. The external source can be an engine, a spring, a raised weigh ...

. This stores the hydraulic energy ensuring a smooth delivery of pressure and meaning that the pumps do not need to be running the whole time nor be capable of supplying the instantaneous peak demands. The working pressure is 750 lbs/square inch. The external accumulator was added about 1954 when the original inside the building's tower became difficult to service (but it remains in place). The building originally contained a pair of steam powered pumps however these were replaced with three electrically driven ones in 1907. The engine house provided the power for equipment such as the lock gates and cranes until 2010. The visitor centre in the hydraulic power house opened in time for Easter 2016. Image:Underfallyardhydraulicpowerhouse.JPG Image:Underfallyardhydraulicpowerhouseengine.JPG, Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay engine Image:Underfallyardexternalaccumulator.JPG, External

Hydraulic accumulator A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which an incompressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source of mechanical energy. The external source can be an engine, a spring, a raised weigh ...

References

{{Reflist Engine houses Hydraulic accumulators Grade II* listed buildings in Bristol Infrastructure completed in 1888 Bristol Harbourside Grade II* listed industrial buildings

See also

References