Pinchbeck Engine
Encyclopedia
The Pinchbeck Engine is a drainage engine, a rotative beam engine
built in 1833 to drain Pinchbeck
Marsh, to the north of Spalding
, Lincolnshire
, in England
. The engine discharged into the Blue Gowt which joins the River Glen
at Surfleet
Seas End.
, successors to the commissioners who erected the engine. The buildings are Grade II listed and also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The Chimmey was demolished in 1952, and no actions were taken to preserve the boiler, which is no longer in a fit state to be used. The engine is a static exhibit, which can be rotated by an electric motor for demonstration purposes.
with an overhead beam
supported by an 'A'-frame. It was built by the Butterley Company
of Leeds
. It has a single cylinder of 35 inches (88.9 cm) bore and 56 inches (1.42 m) stroke. The flywheel is 18 in 6 in (5.64 m) in diameter. The engine ran at up to 30 rpm.
The engine is gear-coupled to a single scoop wheel
in an adjacent compartment. There are 40 paddles around the circumference of the 22 feet (6.71 m) wheel, which could lift a maximum of 7500 gallons (34,095.7 l) of water through an 8 feet (2.44 m) lift. The annual effort varied between 1093000 long tons (1,110,542.7 MT) tons of water lifted, and 3690000 long tons (3,749,224.5 MT). Typically the engine was operated for around 180 days a year and an engine man was permanently retained, living on the site.
The boiler dates from 1895 and is a twin firebox 'Lancashire'-style, delivering 12 psi. It consumed around 1 cwt
of coal per hour. Coal supplies were originally brought by barge, but after the land was successfully drained a railway line was laid from Spalding to Boston, and coals were delivered to a nearby goods facility. They were then transported on a very short narrow gauge railway line in colliery-style tubs. The motive power for this appears to have been human. One of the tubs and a metre or so of line is displayed at the museum.
The engine is said to be the earliest 'A'-frame engine still in situ, the longest working Beam engine in the Fens, and the last in use.
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
built in 1833 to drain Pinchbeck
Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire
Pinchbeck is a village near Spalding in Lincolnshire, England. The name Pinchbeck is derived from either the Old English pinc+bece or pinca+bece ....
Marsh, to the north of Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The engine discharged into the Blue Gowt which joins the River Glen
River Glen, Lincolnshire
The River Glen is a river in Lincolnshire, England with a short stretch passing through Rutland near Essendine.The river's name appears to derive from a Brythonic Celtic language but there is a strong early English connection.-Naming:...
at Surfleet
Surfleet
Surfleet is a small village on the Lincolnshire fens, situated on the River Glen about five miles north of Spalding.The population is about 1,266 people, many of whom commute to regional populations centres such as Spalding, Boston and Peterborough....
Seas End.
Museum
In 1952 the engine was rendered obsolete by modern electric pumps, and stood forgotten until being opened to the public as a museum in 1979. The coal store was cleared and now houses the associated Museum of Land Drainage. The museum complex includes the blacksmith's shop, still in its original condition. The museum is operated by the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage BoardInternal Drainage Board
An internal drainage board is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management within drainage districts...
, successors to the commissioners who erected the engine. The buildings are Grade II listed and also a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The Chimmey was demolished in 1952, and no actions were taken to preserve the boiler, which is no longer in a fit state to be used. The engine is a static exhibit, which can be rotated by an electric motor for demonstration purposes.
Beam engine
The engine is a 20 hp condensing steam engineSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
with an overhead beam
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
supported by an 'A'-frame. It was built by the Butterley Company
Butterley Company
Butterley Engineering was an engineering company based in Ripley, Derbyshire. The company was formed from the Butterley Company which began as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790 and existed until 2009.-Origins:...
of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
. It has a single cylinder of 35 inches (88.9 cm) bore and 56 inches (1.42 m) stroke. The flywheel is 18 in 6 in (5.64 m) in diameter. The engine ran at up to 30 rpm.
The engine is gear-coupled to a single scoop wheel
Scoop wheel
right|thumb|Rim driven Scoop wheel of the [[Stretham Old Engine]], CambridgeshireA scoop wheel may be a pump or an excavator.-Scoop wheel pump:...
in an adjacent compartment. There are 40 paddles around the circumference of the 22 feet (6.71 m) wheel, which could lift a maximum of 7500 gallons (34,095.7 l) of water through an 8 feet (2.44 m) lift. The annual effort varied between 1093000 long tons (1,110,542.7 MT) tons of water lifted, and 3690000 long tons (3,749,224.5 MT). Typically the engine was operated for around 180 days a year and an engine man was permanently retained, living on the site.
The boiler dates from 1895 and is a twin firebox 'Lancashire'-style, delivering 12 psi. It consumed around 1 cwt
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
of coal per hour. Coal supplies were originally brought by barge, but after the land was successfully drained a railway line was laid from Spalding to Boston, and coals were delivered to a nearby goods facility. They were then transported on a very short narrow gauge railway line in colliery-style tubs. The motive power for this appears to have been human. One of the tubs and a metre or so of line is displayed at the museum.
The engine is said to be the earliest 'A'-frame engine still in situ, the longest working Beam engine in the Fens, and the last in use.
Public access
The museum is open 7 days a week from April to October. There is a small car park, and poor disabled access. There is no admission charge.See also
- Pode HolePode HolePode Hole is a small village to the west of Spalding at the confluence of several drainage channels. Two pumping stations discharge water into Vernatt's Drain from land in Deeping Fen to the South and West. Water from Pinchbeck South Fen to the North is also lifted into Vernatt's Drain...
where the Welland and Deeping IDB have another museum. - Dogdyke EngineDogdyke EngineThe Dogdyke Engine is a drainage engine near Tattershall, Lincolnshire, in England. of land around Tattershall was authorised for drainage in 1796, and came under the control of the Witham Third District commissioners in 1844...
- Stretham Old EngineStretham old engineStretham Old Engine is a steam-powered engine just south of Stretham in Cambridgeshire, England, that was used to pump water from flood-affected areas of The Fens back into the River Great Ouse. It is one of only three surviving drainage engines in East Anglia.During the seventeenth century, large...
External links
- Info page about the museum
- The Welland and Deeping IDB. Oddly, they do not mention either of their museums.