Former pumping house, Gloucester Docks

Image: © Alan Murray-Rust Taken: 15 Apr 2019

The first pump was installed in 1834 in the tall building to the left after it was found that the natural supplies to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal were insufficient. Increasing traffic on the Canal rendered this insufficient and a second beam engine and pump were installed in the right hand building in 1855. The original engine was replaced in 1897 by a horizontal engine driving a more efficient centrifugal pump. In 1907, a further, more powerful engine and pump were installed in the new building in the centre. Electric pumps were installed in the 1940s, although steam was available on a stand-by basis until the 1960s when the extraction of water supply for Bristol was introduced. The closure of the boiler house released space which was subsequently used as workshops by British Waterways. On their closure in 1990, the buildings were taken over by the boatbuilding firm of Nielsen and Co who specialise in the repair of historic craft.

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