Mill Meece Pumping Station is a

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as well drilling, drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastru ...

, located in the village of Mill Meece in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

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 b ...

. Its function, powered by

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 trans ...

s, was to pump water from

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petro ...

s to a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in Hanchurch, from which it flows by gravity to supply the Potteries area.

Description

Mill Meece pumping station lies approximately 5 miles west of

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. It is the second pumping station to be constructed in the area, the first being three miles to the north in the hamlet of

Hatton Hatton may refer to: Places Canada * Hatton, Saskatchewan England * Hatton, Cheshire West and Chester, a former civil parish * Hatton, Derbyshire * Hatton, Lincolnshire * Hatton, London, in the London Borough of Hounslow * Hatton, Shropshire, a ...

. There are four boreholes on the Mill Meece site from which water is lifted. Water is raised at Mill Meece by

lift pump A piston pump is a type of positive displacement pump where the high-pressure seal reciprocates with the piston. Piston pumps can be used to move liquids or compress gases. They can operate over a wide range of pressures. High pressure operatio ...

s which deliver water to an underground tank. From there the water is lifted further by

ram pump A plunger pump is a type of positive displacement pump where the high-pressure seal is stationary and a smooth cylindrical plunger slides through the seal. This makes them different from piston pumps and allows them to be used at higher pressures ...

s. Both the lift and ram pumps are powered by two horizontal tandem

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...

Corliss valve Corliss is both a surname and a given name. People Given name * Corliss Lamont (1902–1995), American philosopher, political activist, and philanthropist * C. C. Moseley (1894–1974), American aviator and aviation businessman * Corliss Palmer ( ...

engines using steam raised by three

Lancashire boiler A shell or flued boiler is an early and relatively simple form of boiler used to make steam, usually for the purpose of driving a steam engine. The design marked a transitional stage in boiler development, between the early haystack boilers and t ...

s. The efficiency of steam-raising is increased by a Green's

economiser Economizers (US and Oxford spelling), or economisers (UK), are mechanical devices intended to reduce energy consumption, or to perform useful function such as preheating a fluid. The term economizer is used for other purposes as well. Boiler, po ...

History

Construction of the pumping station was authorised by the Staffordshire Potteries Waterworks Act 1912 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 5. c. lxxv). The pumping station was first put to work with one engine, two boreholes and two boilers in 1915 though did not pump to the public water supply until 1919. The second engine pumping from two new boreholes first pumped water in 1928. Both engines continued to operate until 22 December 1979. Water is still pumped from the Mill Meece site by electric pumps, but the steam engines remain in their original location. The pumping station has seen extensive restoration since it was taken over by the Mill Meece Preservation Trust with the first open day being hosted on 30 May 1981. On 18–19 July 2021 the middle boiler was returned to service and both the Ashton Frost Engine and Hathorn Davey Engine saw motion under steam once again.

Visiting

Mill Meece pumping station is now operated by a charity, the Mill Meece Pumping Station Preservation Trust. The website listed below provides details of when it is open to the public.

External links

Mill Meece pumping station website
{{coord, 52.9025, -2.2539, type:landmark_region:GB-STS, display=title Buildings and structures in Staffordshire Museums in Staffordshire Preserved stationary steam engines Waterworks museums in England Water supply pumping stations Infrastructure completed in 1915

Description

History

Visiting

See also

External links