Bestwood Pumping Station was a water
pumping station operating in
Nottinghamshire from 1874 until 1964.
History
Bestwood Pumping Station was built between 1871 and 1874 on land belonging to
William Beauclerk, 10th Duke of St Albans. It was commissioned by the
Nottingham Water Company and designed by
Thomas Hawksley
Thomas Hawksley ( – ) was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with early water supply and coal gas engineering projects. Hawksley was, with John Frederick Bateman, the leading British water engineer of the ...
. Several of the structures on site are
listed including the pump house, lodges, landscaped ornamental cooling pond, several cast iron lamps and the boundary walls.
The high chimney is concealed and disguised as a huge
campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
topped by a cupola.
It was equipped with two 125 hp rotative
beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newco ...
s built by Joseph Whitham and Son, Leeds. The pumping station yielded more than per day from the pebble beds.
[Chemical news and journal of industrial science, Volume 32] It pumped water through two 18 inch mains to Red Hill reservoir and one 18 inch main to the
Papplewick reservoir.
It operated until 1964 when a new electric pump house was built. The steam engines were removed between 1968 and 1972.
Current use
The Venetian Gothic Revival style building can be clearly seen from the main
A60 road. Its tower makes the building a local landmark.
The site was vacant and boarded-up until Healthworks Co bought it. Starting in 1997 there has been a £2m conversion of the pumping station to a restaurant and health club complex.
See also
*
Grade II* listed buildings in Nottinghamshire
*
Listed buildings in Bestwood St. Albans
*
Papplewick Pumping Station
*
Boughton Pumping Station
Boughton Pumping Station was a water pumping station near New Ollerton in Nottinghamshire, operating from 1905. After closure it became a commercial hospitality venue.
History
Situated on the edge of Sherwood Forest, Boughton Pumping Station ...
External links
See Bestwood Pumping Station on Google Street ViewLakeside restaurant and spa
References
{{coord, 53.02831, -1.13764, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Buildings and structures in Nottinghamshire
Preserved stationary steam engines
Infrastructure completed in 1874
Grade II* listed buildings in Nottinghamshire
Water supply and sanitation in England
Water supply pumping stations