| Summary: | Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by BAM Nuttall Ltd to produce an Historic England Level 2 historic building record (HBR) of an underground reservoir beneath Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club car park. The reservoir is associated with the adjacent mid-19th century Grade 1 Listed Starcross Pumping House, which was part of the South Devon Railway (SDR) constructed
in the mid-1880s by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The Starcross Pumping House stands on the east side of The Strand, Starcross, near Exeter. The car park with the underground reservoir lies south of the Pumping House, centred on OS NGR 297753 081742.
The historic building record was required as the feature was recently uncovered during part of ground works related to the flood defence scheme led by the Environment Agency. Stephen Reed, the Senior Historic Environment Officer for Devon County Council, highlighted the potential importance of the feature with relation to the Starcross Pumping House and Wessex Archaeology produced a Written Scheme of Investigation with survey proposals.
Due to the confined access to the reservoir, consisting of a single circular opening, the survey used a combination of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), terrestrial laser scanning and photography to produce a descriptive record of the reservoir both for heritage purposes and to inform on-going engineering decisions related to the future of this historic feature. The survey results have been able to produce an accurate model of the reservoir and establish its true location and overall size. The surveys were undertaken on 27th April 2018.
The first railway was designed with the atmospheric system in which the air is pumped from a continuous cylinder in the centre of, in this case, broad gauge track. In order for this to happen, steam engine pump houses were built along the line at regular intervals. The reservoir supplied the boilers at Starcross for the steam to power the pump beam engine. The atmospheric railway lasted for approximately a year between 1847 and 1848 before being converted to conventional broadgauge steam locomotive system.
The reservoir at Starcross has been built below ground level a distance to the south from the boiler house at Starcross. It consists of a large rectangular feature consisting of two stone-built arched chambers covering an area of 318 square metres. These are separated by a central stone dividing wall with a series of ten open arches. Digital survey has also recorded associated features within the chamber such as possible iron ladder fittings and circular holes, most now covered for probable venting.
This descriptive record is intended to form as accurately as possible an understanding of the reservoir at this time. It is the first such record attempted to be made and it is hoped that it will inform any future decisions in its development. It may be required to create a fuller record of the structure to be able to understand how it worked. |
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