Old Brook Pumping Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Old Brook Pumping Station |
|
|---|---|
Old Brook Pumping station, Chatham now a museum.
|
|
| Location | The Brook (road) Chatham, Kent ME2 9AQ |
| OS grid reference | TQ75996783 |
| Built | 1929 |
| Owner | Medway Council |
| Official name: Brook Low Level Pumping Station | |
| Reference no. | 1003407 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
The Old Brook Pumping Station in Chatham, Kent was a special building that helped keep the town clean. It worked from 1929 until 1980, pumping dirty water away. Today, it's a cool museum where you can see how it all worked!
Contents
History of the Pumping Station
In the 1500s, a big wall called the 'Land wall' separated the 'Old River Bourne' and its marshy areas from the River Medway. Later, a tide mill was built on the Brook, which was the new name for the Old River Bourne. A tide mill uses the power of the tides to turn a wheel.
By 1765, Chatham had grown a lot. The Brook river was covered by a road. The marshy land became home to many houses. A famous writer, Charles Dickens, even lived nearby when he was nine years old, between 1821 and 1823.
The old river had been changed into culverts, which are like underground tunnels for water. People used these culverts and cesspits (holes in the ground for waste) to get rid of their rubbish.
Why Chatham Needed a Pumping Station
In 1801, Chatham had about 10,505 people. By 1901, this number had grown to 36,944! But the old drainage tunnels had not been updated. They started to fail, and people in the town became very sick. There were even outbreaks of a serious illness called Cholera. Also, the fish and oyster beds in the River Medway were suffering because of the pollution.
In 1852, an expert named Edward Gotto looked into the health problems in Chatham. His report showed how bad the diseases and dirty conditions were. This led to plans to improve the drainage and sewers in the town. They built new brick sewers and covered culverts.
In 1909, a tram line was built along where the old Brook River used to be.
Building the New Drainage System
In 1920, the 'Rochester and Chatham Joint Sewerage Board' was created. Their job was to manage the town's waste.
They developed a big plan called the 'Rochester and Chatham Joint Main Drainage scheme'. It cost a lot of money, about £650,000 in total. This new drainage system officially opened on December 4, 1928.
The plan included a main sewer pipe running under New Road in Chatham. This pipe went all the way to Gillingham and then to Motney Hill on the Rainham Marshes. This area is now part of the Riverside Country Park.
The Old Brook Pumping Station's job was to lift dirty water from the lowest parts of Chatham up to this main sewer. It opened in September 1929.
From Pumping Station to Museum
In 1979, a new, modern pumping station took over the job. This new station uses electric pumps and is still working today. The old Pumping Station was then listed as an ancient monument. This means it is protected by law because it is an important historical site.
After it stopped working in 1979, the Southern Water Authority sold the Old Brook Pumping Station to Medway Council for just £1! It is now a partner project with the Rochester Guildhall Museum.
In 1984, a group called the Medway Industrial Archaeology Group (MIAG) worked hard to fix up the station. They then started opening it to the public so everyone could see it.
How the Pumping Station Worked
The station has a large storage tank underground, about 28 feet deep. This tank collected the water before it was pumped.
During very heavy rain or floods, extra water and effluent (dirty water or waste) would be pumped directly into the River Medway. This was only done when the river was very full, so the waste would be greatly diluted.
The pumping station had different types of pumps for different jobs:
- Two large 14-inch Campbell diesel engines powered pumps during storms and floods.
- One electric motor drove a 6-inch Blackstone pump. This pump could move 50,000 gallons of water every hour. It was used for normal, everyday water flow. There was also a backup machine just in case.
- Another electric motor drove an 8-inch Blackstone pump. This one could move 100,000 gallons per hour and was used for storm water. There was a backup for this one too.
- For very big storms, two even larger 14-inch Blackstone pumps would kick in. These could move 250,000 gallons per hour! They were powered by 56 horsepower Campbell diesel engines.
The pumps would lift the water up to 20 feet high into a 'Storm tower' before it went into the culvert leading to the River Medway.
What You Can See Today
The Old Brook Pumping Station is looked after by the 'Medway Industrial Archaeology Group' (MIAG) with help from Medway Council.
When you visit, you can see lots of cool things:
- An old Victorian printing press that was used to print the 'Rochester Gazette' newspaper.
- Many model windmills.
- An old Aveling and Porter road roller built by a famous local factory.
- Steam and hot air engines.
The pumping station is also the official home of MIAG.
Visiting Information
The Old Brook Pumping Station is open:
- June to September: Saturdays, 11am-3pm
- October to May: first Saturday of the month, 11am-3pm
Entry is free!
