British Waterways take Claverton Pumping Station back from canal trust

The historic water powered  pumping station at Claverton on the Kennet & Avon Canal that was designed by John Rennie has a secure future now that British Waterways has taken it back from the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust. 

Claverton Pumping Station: Picture by Bob Naylor

The Trust had been running the pumping station since 1978 when Trust volunteers and students from Bath University completed a 10-year restoration project.

Now more than 30 years on the water wheel is in need of extensive restoration work that the K&A Canal Trust was unable to finance because of its shaky financial position.

Mark Stephens the Waterway Manager and Pete Dunn the Chairman of the Claverton Pumping Station Group have come up with a rescue plan that will mean that the team at Claverton will follow the example another K&ACT team, the Avon Vale Group, and they will volunteer directly for British Waterways.

British Waterways will fund all of the materials for the restoration and Pete Dunn and his team will provide skills and voluntary labour to bring it back to full working order. 

The machinery will be 200 years old in 2013 and the aim is to have it pumping water to the canal by then which will make a huge saving on electricity costs.

Pete Dunn said: "During the year-long restoration Claverton will be open to the public on the normal open days and the progress and processes of the restoration will be on view."

For more information about Claverton Pumping Station go to their website at: http://www.claverton.org

Open days for 2012
The pumping station is open to the public every Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday (except Friday 6th April and Tuesday 5th June) from March 31st until October 28th inclusive

Opening Hours
Wednesdays: 10am until 4pm (last admission 3:30pm)
Other open days 10am until 5pm (last admission 4:30pm)
Admission: £3
Children under 16 are admitted free, but all children must be accompanied by an adult 

Claverton Pumping Station Family Fun weekend

Picture by Bob Naylor©

This weekend (May 29th and 30th) not only will visitors to Claverton Pumping Station near Bath on the Kennet & Avon Canal see the amazing water driven pump in action — but there will also be a host of other activities to suit all ages.

There will be a canal artist at work and you will be able to:

• learn to tie knots and lasso
• learn about canal life and history
• learn more about wildlife
• learn how to build model railways

There will also be homemade cakes and refreshments to enjoy on the lawn as you take in the beautiful scenery.

Pictures by Bob Naylor©

Entrance fee: £5 for adults. Children under 16 are free if accompanied by an adult.
Open: 10am until 5pm (last admission 4:30pm)

Website: www.claverton.org

Fact file:

John Rennie had the waterwheel powered pumping station built at Claverton to supply water to the Limpley Stoke valley length of the Kennet & Avon Canal. 

It was completed in 1813 and it operated continuously until 1952. It then lay derelict for 15 years until a group of enhusiasts restored the waterwheel, beam engines and pumps to full working order. 

It re-opened in 1978 and the Claverton Group continue to maintain and operate the Pumping Station.

The waterwheel and pumping machinery which are housed in a pump house built of Bath stone use the river's own power to pump water 48 feet up from the River Avon.

It burns no fuel and makes no waste — it is the ultimate in environmentally friendly technology.

Visitor parking boost for K&A Canal Pumping Station

The water powered Claverton Pumping Station on the 
Kennet & Avon Canal. Picture by Bob Naylor

The historic, water powered, pumping station at Claverton on the Kennet & Avon Canal near Bath will soon be able to welcome many more visitors thanks to a deal struck between the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, who run the pumping station under a lease agreement with British Waterways, local landowner, Digger Smith and Bathampton Angling Association.

Digger Smith of Watership Farm has sold land next to the railway line near to the Pumping Station allowing a new car park to be built. Anglers and visitors to the pumping station will no longer have to struggle to find parking space in the very narrow Ferry Lane.

It has taken almost four years to finalise the deal — getting planning permission from Bath and North East Somerset Council for a for a car park took two years — and then it took another two years for the legal process to buy the land.

The cost of the land was met jointly by the K&A Canal Trust and Bathampton Anging Association and work will begin in the new year under the project management of John Webb.