£580,000 restoration project works get started at Papplewick Pumping Station

The project, staff at the historic site say is ‘a big job’, will see work carried out to repair and stabilise the station’s 120ft tall chimney, the engine house’s ornate wooden porch and the site’s boundary wall.

Funding for the project has come in the form of £518,000 of Government grants to help with essential repairs and maintenance.

The total work is projected to cost £580,000 and the pumping station’s landlord, Severn Trent Water, pledged to contribute a further £58,840 with the remaining funds being matched by the museum.

The popular tourist attraction was one of more than 70 cultural organisations across the country to be given a financial boost by Arts Council England in 2022 so they can improve people’s access to arts, and safeguard vital local collections and heritage buildings for future generations to enjoy.

The money will come from the Arts Council England’s museum estate and development fund, which the pumping station applied to in September, 2022.

Speaking at the time, Ashley Smart, museum director at the pumping station, said: “This money, along with the generous contribution from Severn Trent Water, will enable us to carry out essential repair works and safeguard the future of the site for many years to come.”

Originally opened in 1884, the station provided clean water to Nottingham until it was decommissioned in 1969.

The site then became a museum in 1975 and celebrates its 140th anniversary this year.

Papplewick is also the only pumping station in England to have retained all its original features, including machinery and the reservoir.

The site is a scheduled monument and registered park and garden and also home to several buildings, including the Grade II-listed steam-powered engine house and boiler house.

However, fears for the structural future of site increased after it appeared for the first time on Historic England’s annual Heritage at Risk Register back in 2022.

Papplewick was among more than 40 listed buildings, monuments, parks and conservation areas from across Nottinghamshire that were considered at risk of being lost as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

But now, work is underway to address structural concerns and ensure the long-term future of the site.