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Summary

A Victorian pump house formed part of the 19th century development of the waterworks site.

Monument Type(s):

• WATER PUMPING STATION (Post Medieval to Modern - 1852 AD? to 2050 AD)

Description

Also at the waterworks site is an unlisted Victorian red brick pump house built in an eclectic baroque revival style. This single storey brick building is of modest architectural pretensions, but is nonetheless a robust piece of municipal engineering. It is of loosely baroque revival style with Dutch gables fronting Bath Road. Visual inspection of the building clearly reveals that it has been extended rearwards into the reservoir bank at some stage, and map evidence indicates that this was during the 20th century. It must be assumed that this building originally housed a steam pump, but it now contained 20th century pumping gear. Along with the water tower and the front boundary wall and railings, the pump house marks a significant stage in the 19th century development of Reading <1>.

It is probable that the pump house originally housed two 8-horsepower vertical steam engines, which were replaced in 1894by two large steam engines, with an even larger one added in 1902. The two smaller engines were again replaced in 1927 by three electric pumps and a further diesel pump, presumably replacing the larger steam pump <2>.

The original plans for the Bath Road reservoir site dated 30th November 1850 show the pump house in the south-west corner of the site.

The Board of Health commissioned a map in 1853 of the waterworks within Reading. This appears to show the site as it was built, with the two reservoirs at the rear and four filtration tanks at the southern end of the site. The pump house was located to the south-west and the superintendents’ house was beside it to the west. The pump house has been extended to the rear and cut into the bund around the reservoir. It is not clear whether it was built larger than the original plan or rapidly extended after being built. By the 1881 Ordnance survey map the pump house has been extended again. By 1911–1912 the eastern block of the pump house has been extended at the front and rear and by 1931–1932 further buildings have been added to the rear of the pump house including a new sub-station and lean to.

Building recording of the pump house was undertaken in 2013. The pump house was located in the south-west corner of the site and was roughly square in plan, but with varying roof lines and a small extension to the north. Externally, the building was brick built of red brick measuring 230mm x 112mm x 75mm (9 1/16” x 4 11/16” x 2 15/16”) and laid in Flemish bond. A plinth course was present around the building topped with stone. The roof was covered in slate and the gable ends were in the Dutch style surmounted by stone with a spiked ball at the top.

Within the south façade were two Dutch gable ends at the western end. Within each of the gables was an arrow slit type window picked out in stone. A stone string course was also present across the gable ends at the height of the roof line. At both ends of the façade, was a rectangular window with a stone block surround, and infilled with white glazed bricks. The windows may have been built blind originally. Beside each of the windows was a door with a double curved brick arch above it, supported on a pair of brick pilasters with stone capitals. The western door had a stone keystone and glass above the door. To the east of it was a scar in the brickwork showing where the two walls butted each other. The centre of the façade had a pair of double loading doors raised up above the ground, with a hoist.

The east façade was predominantly obscured by the bund and vegetation. Removal of this revealed the Dutch gable end with the parapet extending to cover the valley between the two roofs. A small lean-to extension was present in the centre of the façade. The northernmost block was of plain brick laid in English bond.

The west façade contained two blocked up/blind windows and two pairs of double doors, along with a small window towards the north end. The north façade was not accessible.

Internally the building could be sub-divided into seven rooms or chambers (numbered 7-12 here). Entrance was gained through a pair of double doors in the south façade into room 7. The floor was of concrete and the ceiling was timber clad. A small area had been separated off in the north-east corner with a stud partition wall. Machinery was also present within the room. To the east was room 8, accessed via a set of steps up to the raised metal floor. Within room 8 was housed more machinery. In the south-west corner was a blocked doorway. To the north of room 7 was room 9, a large double height room with two rows of skylights in the roof, which was supported by metal trusse. The floor was covered in red quarry tiles and the walls were a combination of painted brickwork on the upper half and tiled on the lower half with white glazed tiles. A line of brown tiles decorated it with a line of moulded brown tiles along the top. The room housed more machinery, including a hoist mechanism that could track along the length of the building, built by Appleby Frodingham steel company. The I-beam across the room was built by Herbert Morris of Loughborough, crane manufacturers. In the north-west corner was a small store cupboard (room 10). Room 11 was located to the west of room 10. It was sub-divided by a low wall, with the southernmost part having no access on the day. The roofline at the southern end was lower than the majority of it. A pair of double doors was present in the western façade and a blind window. To the north was a toilet. To the north of room 12 was a further room which had no internal access and was the former sub-station.

Aspects of the original building are still present. Room 8 forms part of the pump house that was on the original designs. It is possible that the westernmost block is contained within part of room 11, but it is not possible to see any evidence of this in the brickwork. It is likely that the north-east corner of room 9 is the same as that seen on the 1853 plans. Room 7 forms the extension seen on the 1879 Ordnance Survey map. By 1910 the western block, incorporating room 11 had been extended. This may have occurred in more than one stage based on the change of height within the roof line, although it may have been to tie in with the existing gable end <3>.

<1> CgMs Consulting, 2008, Historic Buildings Report - The Water Tower, Bath Road, Reading, Berkshire (Unpublished document). SRM13753.

<2> Berkshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2009, BIAG News, Pages 9-10 "A Layman's Potted History of the Bath Road Reservoir" by Graham Grifiths (Newsletter). SRM13939.

<3> Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 2014, Bath Road Reservoirs, Reading, Berkshire - Building Recording, Pages 5-6; Figs: 4-9 and 14-15: Plates 11-19. (Unpublished document). SRM14717.

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