Edgbaston Waterworks (Edgbaston Pumping Station) () lies to the east of
Edgbaston Reservoir, two miles west of the centre of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England.
The buildings were designed by
John Henry Chamberlain and
William Martin around 1870. The engine house, boiler house, and chimney are
Grade II listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
s. The site is operated by
Severn Trent Water
Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales.
It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...
. Despite the close proximity to Edgbaston Reservoir there is no current or historical connection of the water. This waterworks manages domestic water supply whereas the reservoir was built to feed the canal system.
It has been suggested,
but not proven, that the towers of
Perrott's Folly and Edgbaston Waterworks may have influenced references to towers in the writings of
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
, who lived nearby as a child.
See also
*
Birmingham Corporation Water Department
*
Perrott's Folly
References
Sources
* ''A Guide to the Buildings of Birmingham'', Peter Leather,
External links
*
*
Edgbaston
Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham
Water supply in Birmingham, West Midlands
Industrial buildings in England
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