Crofton
Crofton Pumping Station
At Crofton Pumping Station, on the bank of the Kennet and Avon Canal between Crofton and Burbage, it was an open 'steaming day' in July 2004 when volunteer engineer, Dennis Munson, of the Kennet and Avon Trust, gave SWIAS members an introductory talk.
The pumping station at Crofton was built in 1809 as part of the Kennet and Avon Canal. This was completed in 1810 and its 57 miles of waterway linked up the River Kennet with the River Avon and allowed horse-drawn barges to travel all the way from London to Bristol.
The pumping station was necessary because the summit of the canal - about a mile to the west - was 40 feet above the level of the only available water source in the area which was a network of springs at Crofton. Every time a barge crosses the summit, two lockfuls of water are drained from the summit level. This water has to be replaced by pumping. There are 320 tons of water per lock.
The canal was engineered by John Rennie between 1794 and 1810 and designed to take barges of up to 13 feet 10 inches in beam. Water from the natural springs drains into the canal and through a culvert into a well beneath the pumping station. It is then pumped up 40 feet into a leat or feeder culvert which runs west, following the contour of the land, to the summit.
The first steam engine was supplied by Bolton and Watt and installed in 1809. The
firm supplied a second engine in 1812. This engine is still there and now referred to as the Number 1 Engine. The original was replaced by one made by Harvey of Hayle in 1846 and now called the Number 2 Engine.
In the mid 19th century, the railway came through Crofton and it heralded the long decline of the canal system. However, both the pumping engines remained in service until the 1950s when the brickwork of the chimney was discovered to be unsound and the top section was dismantled. There was then insufficient draught to fire the boilers properly and the canal fell into disuse.
The kennet and avon trust purchased the station from British Waterways in 1968. Volunteers then restored both of the beam engines to a working condition.
The pumping station was officially opened again on 21st August 1970. Members were able to see the 1812 Bolton and Watt engine in steam. Each stroke lifts over 1 ton of water. Steam now comes from a Lancashire boiler which started life in the Imperial Tobacco Company's factory in Bristol and coal is brought by road from Wales. Around 30 tons are needed for the 18 steaming days each season.
A tea room and picnic area with scenic views of barges going through the locks makes this a very pleasant day out.