Mill Meece Pumping Station facts for kids
The Mill Meece Pumping Station is a special place in the village of Mill Meece, Staffordshire, England. It used to have powerful steam engines that pumped water from deep underground (called boreholes). This water then traveled to a big storage tank, a reservoir, in Hanchurch. From there, the water flowed downhill to supply clean water to the Potteries area, which includes many towns.
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What is Mill Meece Pumping Station?
Mill Meece Pumping Station is about 5 miles west of Stone. It was the second pumping station built in this area. The first one was three miles north in a small village called Hatton. At Mill Meece, there are four deep holes in the ground, called boreholes, where water is collected.
How the Pumps Work
Water is first lifted from the boreholes by special lift pumps. These pumps send the water into a tank hidden underground. From that tank, other pumps called ram pumps lift the water even higher.
Both the lift pumps and the ram pumps get their power from two large steam engines. These are called horizontal tandem compound Corliss valve engines. They use steam made by three big Lancashire boilers. To make the steam-making process even better and save energy, a special device called a Green's economiser is used.
History of Mill Meece
The plan to build the pumping station was approved by a law called the Staffordshire Potteries Waterworks Act 1912.
The pumping station started working for the first time in 1915. Back then, it had one engine, two boreholes, and two boilers. However, it did not start pumping water for public use until 1919. The second engine, which pumped water from two new boreholes, began working in 1928. Both of these powerful steam engines continued to operate until December 22, 1979.
Even though the steam engines stopped working, water is still pumped from the Mill Meece site today. Electric pumps now do this job. The original steam engines are still in their place, preserved for everyone to see.
Restoration and Open Days
Since the Mill Meece Preservation Trust took over, the pumping station has been greatly restored. The first day it was open for visitors was on May 30, 1981.
More recently, on July 18 and 19, 2021, the middle boiler was fixed and started working again. This meant that both the Ashton Frost Engine and the Hathorn Davey Engine could move with steam once more!
Visiting the Station
Today, the Mill Meece Pumping Station is run by a charity called the Mill Meece Pumping Station Preservation Trust. If you want to visit and see these amazing old machines, you can check their website. It will tell you when the station is open to the public.
See also
- Listed buildings in Standon, Staffordshire
