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Claverton Pumping Station

Buildings and structures in Bath and North East SomersetCanal museums in EnglandCanals in SomersetGrade I listed buildings in Bath and North East SomersetGrade I listed industrial buildings
Grade I listed museum buildingsGrade I listed water millsIndustrial archaeological sites in SomersetIndustrial buildings in EnglandInfrastructure completed in 1813Kennet and Avon CanalMuseums in SomersetPreserved beam enginesScience and technology in SomersetTechnology museums in the United KingdomTourist attractions in SomersetUse British English from December 2020Water-powered beam enginesWater supply pumping stationsWatermills in SomersetWaterworks museums in England
Claverton Pumping Station with millpond
Claverton Pumping Station with millpond

Claverton Pumping Station in the village of Claverton, in the English county of Somerset, pumps water from the River Avon to the Kennet and Avon Canal using power from the flow of the river. It is a Grade I listed building, having been upgraded from Grade II in 2019.The pumping station was built by John Rennie between 1809 and 1813 to overcome water supply problems on the canal. It uses a 24-foot (7 m) wide wooden breastshot water wheel to drive two Boulton and Watt 18-foot (5 m) long cast iron rocking beams, which power lift pumps to raise water 48 feet (15 m) up to the canal. The pumping station has undergone several modifications since its initial construction, including revising the wheel into two sections each 12 feet (3.7 m) wide separated by a 9-inch (23 cm) gap. The station's operational life ended in 1952, by which time its maintenance and repair had become uneconomical in the light of falling traffic on the canal. In the 1960s and 1970s restoration was carried out by students from the University of Bath and the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, who replaced and repaired the buildings and equipment and returned the pumping station to a functional state by 1978. It is now owned by the Canal and River Trust and maintained by the Claverton Pumping Station Trust CIO, open to the public as an industrial heritage museum.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Claverton Pumping Station (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Claverton Pumping Station
Ferry Lane,

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Wikipedia: Claverton Pumping StationContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 51.378055555556 ° E -2.3016666666667 °
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Claverton Pumping Station

Ferry Lane
BA2 7BH
England, United Kingdom
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Claverton Pumping Station with millpond
Claverton Pumping Station with millpond
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Dundas Aqueduct
Dundas Aqueduct

Dundas Aqueduct (grid reference ST785625) carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon (the Somerset / Wiltshire border) and the Wessex Main Line railway from Bath to Westbury. The aqueduct is near Monkton Combe, Somerset, and is about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) southeast of the city of Bath. It was designed by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas between 1797 and 1801, and completed in 1805. James McIlquham was appointed contractor. It is named after Charles Dundas, the first chairman of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company. The aqueduct is 150 yards (137.2 m) long with three arches built of Bath Stone, with Doric pilasters, and balustrades at each end. The central semi-circular arch spans 64 feet (19.5 m); the two oval side arches span 20 feet (6.1 m).The canal crosses back across the Avon and the railway on another aqueduct at Avoncliff. This diversion onto the right bank of the Avon avoids the steep sides of the river valley at Limpley Stoke, and the need to cross the Midford Brook and River Frome. It is a Grade I listed building, and was the first canal structure to be designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1951. Over many years, leaks had developed and the aqueduct was closed in 1954. For a while in the 1960s and 1970s, the canal was dry and it was possible to walk along the bed on each side of the river, as well as through the aqueduct itself. The aqueduct was relined with polythene and concrete and restored, reopening in 1984. Care was taken not to disturb a colony of bats living under the aqueduct. The aqueduct is also the junction between the Kennet and Avon Canal and the largely derelict Somerset Coal Canal. The short stretch of the Somerset Coal Canal still in water forms Brassknocker Basin, used for boat moorings, cycle hire and a cafe, and is next to Dundas Wharf where the small tollhouse, warehouse and crane still stand. The stretch of river below and above the aqueduct is used by Monkton Combe School Boat Club (Monkton Bluefriars) up to six days a week, since at least the 1960s. At the opposite (Wiltshire) end of the aqueduct a wharf was constructed serving the Conkwell stone quarries.Between 2002 and 2004 further restoration was undertaken, which included replacing engineering bricks used by GWR with Bath Stone to match the original work. In 2015, the railway below the aqueduct was lowered to allow the route to be used as a diversionary route for freight trains in the future. Network Rail published a time-lapse video of the work.