Lichfield Waterworks Trust

Help us to get our Victorian Beam Engine moving again!  

The Lichfield Waterworks Trust are a group of volunteers working hard to renovate the Victorian Sandfields Pumping Station at Sandfields in Lichfield, Staffordshire – but we need your help to get our engine moving again.

We are hoping to raise £5,000 to get our Victorian Beam Engine moving again.   

Background

The Lichfield Waterworks Trust is a group of volunteers dedicated to preserving Sandfields Pumping Station, with its fascinating history and unique Victorian Pumping Engine.

This engine is one of only four left in the entire country. Built by Jonah & George Davies in Tipton and installed in 1873, it worked for 50 years, pumping clean water to the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution to help eradicate Cholera.

The engine was taken out of service in 1927 and has not moved for almost 100 years. We’d love to get it moving again and while we have the expertise to do it, we need your help to raise money for the materials that we need. 

Why we need the engine to move

Getting the engine moving again would benefit the Pumping Station, the visitors and the surrounding area in so many ways. Aside from the historical importance of restoring the engine, a moving engine would enhance the visitor experience, bringing many more people to the station which in turn would bring more funds to help us to further restore the site. 

Just imagine the main beam reciprocating again! The beam is 36 feet long and weighs 20 tons and will reciprocate 14 times a minute – just as it did when it was pumping water. 

We would be able to invite school tours to the site to help educate children in the local area about the role that the engine played during the Industrial Revolution. 

And bringing more people to the Pumping Station would, of course, help to boost the area around the station too - encouraging day trippers to spend more time and money in the local area. 

To encourage you to support us, we would like to offer you rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.

£20 or more
A free tour of the Pumping Station

£40 or more
A free tour of the Pumping Station, PLUS a free Engine Plate!

£50 or more
A free Engine Plate PLUS you will get a private tour for two people, to be one of the first to see the engine actually moving!