Coleham Pumping Station is a historical

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...

at Coleham in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

The sewage pumping station was built at the end of the 19th century as part of a major upgrading of

sewerage Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and scr ...

system. Two massive steam-driven

beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead Beam (structure), 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 b ...

s were built by Renshaw's of

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

during 1897–1898; and a brick building, resembling a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

chapel in style, was constructed in 1900 to house them. The pumping station was opened by the mayoress of Shrewsbury in 1901. The steam-powered pumps were used until 1970, when new electric pumps were brought into use. The ownership of the pumping station, including the building, engines and grounds, was transferred to

Shrewsbury and Atcham Shrewsbury and Atcham was a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England, between 1974 and 2009. Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, although itself only a village, was included in the name as a refle ...

Borough Council in 1974. It is now a museum run by Shropshire Museums (department of

Shropshire Council Shropshire Council, known between 1980 and 2009 as Shropshire County Council and prior to 1980 as Salop County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire (district), Shropshire in t ...

Preservation

Coleham Sewage Pumping Station - geograph

The Shrewsbury Steam Trust was founded in 1992 with the aim of restoring the steam engines and the two coal-fired Cornish boilers that provided the steam. One

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

was commissioned in 2002, allowing the Society to hold 'steam-up' days. Restoration of the second beam engine was completed on 27 September 2004, when it was operated for the first time in the 34 years since it was retired. Both steam engines may be seen running together on the several Open Days that are held at the museum each year.

External links

{{Commons category, Coleham Pumping Station * Facebook page
Hereofficial site
– ''History, pictures, opening times and more''
Shrewsbury Museums
– ''including opening times and prices'' Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury History of Shropshire Preserved beam engines Museums in Shropshire Steam museums in England Sewage pumping stations Infrastructure completed in 1900 Former pumping stations