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Report - - Hydraulic Ram Pumps 13, Herefordshire (2019-2023) | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Hydraulic Ram Pumps 13, Herefordshire (2019-2023)

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urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
More old water-powered stuff, this time from Herefordshire.
There are a lot of pumps here (20), almost all of the ones I found in the county, but I make no apology for sticking them all in one post - it’s the first and probably the last time any of these will be recorded.

About 40% of pumping equipment shown on maps of Herefordshire is still there, with a similar proportion of rams, considered as a subset.
I’ve left out a couple which are next to occupied houses, and also a working example in the Weir Gardens, a National Trust property (a Blake, happily watering a rockery).

Photos are phone, with sites ordered according the maker of the pump, starting with some Vulcans, made by Green and Carter.




a. This was actually the first one I looked for, at the bottom of the embankment of Belmont Pool on the outskirts of Hereford.
Like most of the pumps listed here it appears in the early 1900s, before the water mains arrived, and presumably served some nearby uphill property.




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b. Another in a little hut like a train carriage near Peterstow, pumping to a farm.


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c. Two near Hay-on-Wye, also for a farm - one of these was still going (click on the video).


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d. An older ram near Bromyard, present by 1885 - I almost missed this one since it’s not shown on later maps.
It was made by an American manufacturer I haven’t come across before, W&B Douglas of Middletown Connecticut.



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e. Another make of ram I hadn’t seen before on a farm near Kington, where a pump house is shown at this location since 1885.
It’s in peices and I didn’t see a maker’s name, but it was probably made by Robert Warner and Co of Walton-on-the-Naze and London.



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A restored example, next to a Vulcan in the Hereford Waterworks Museum.



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f. A couple of rams in a partially underground hut in field outside Hereford.


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The furthest one looks like another Warner in bits.



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The nearer one is a Blake, one of the commonest makes.



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Continued
 
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urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
A bunch more Blakes.


g. One near Clehonger, with a reservoir tank above filled by a spring.


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h. Another one fed from a spring, on a farm near Docklow.
The reservoir tank has gone and at first I thought the pump had gone as well, with just an empty concrete box where it should have been.
Then I spotted part of it poking out of the ground nearby, so dug it out and put it back where it belongs.
It seems to have cracked and been welded up again.



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There’s a plinth for some machine immediately in front of the box, so it looks like the ram was dumped when it stopped working, extending the inlet and outlet pipes over to the new pump.





i. A little Blake near Eywood, fed from a dammed stream nearby.



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j. And this one near Hatfield, fed from a tank.


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k. Another one near Bromyard, fed from an upstream dam - quite an elaborate hut for the current medium-sized occupant.


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l. A partially buried one near Titley - literally by the side of the road so surprising it’s still there.


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After a bit of excavation and a rub with dilute phosphoric acid (coke).



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The local resident wasn’t happy.



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Now for a couple of compound Blakes, powered by one source of water but pumping a different, cleaner one.

m. This setup near Glewstone consists of a partially demolished brick hut with some pipes, and a concrete tank containing the ram.


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n. Another near Putley Green was powered by a reservoir slightly uphill, with a couple of clean water tanks inside.
Unusually, the outlet is angled at 45 degrees - they normally point straight up.



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o. Finally in this section a working simple ram on a farm near Trewen showing flow out of the straight up outlet well, although it looks like it may need some maintenance.


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Continued
 

urbanchemist

28DL Regular User
Regular User
In this last section are a few rams of unknown make because they were underwater or otherwise inaccessible.



p. Some remains just outside Hereford on the banks of the River Wye, labelled on maps as pump house, ram and well.
This seems to be the remains of the pump house.



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The ram was at the bottom of a well.



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q. Another in a pretty location on the banks of the Wye, near Moccas, with the reservoir filled by water from a spring.


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Spring water in parts of Herefordshire seems to be quite hard and has deposited a large mound of limescale on the way down to the river.



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When I finally found the ram, under about a foot of water, it was encrusted as well.



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r. Another flooded one near Lyonshall.
At first I thought the hut was a duck shelter, but sticking my phone round the corner showed the pump was still there.



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s. Finally a second example near Titley, this one also mostly buried in mud, with a few gaskets looped around the top.


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I didn’t notice the inscription on the lintel at first…



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…but as far as I can make out it says:

ERECTED A.D. 1855
BY REAR ADMIRAL
SIR THOMAS HASTINGS K.C.B.
ARCHITECT SANKEY KING…something

Sir Thomas has his own wikipedia page Thomas Hastings (Royal Navy officer) - Wikipedia and seems to have been mostly interested in gunnery.
Turns out his missus, Lady Louisa Elizabeth Hastings was from Titley Court, which this ram served - there’s a memorial to her next to the local church.
One for the local history twonks.


As I said at the beginning these rams are worth recording, once.
Of course owners of the working examples know what they’ve got, but the rest will slowly disappear, typically when drainage patterns change and a ditch or pond gets tidied up.
 

dansgas1000

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Cracking stuff as always, it's so fun trawling through old OS Maps and finding the old pumps, and it is very rewarding when you find something. I like seeing the name plates on these too.
 

TheVicar

Loyal to the Drain
Regular User
Another excellent report on these fascinating pumps. :thumb
It's been years since I last saw one myself. I remember finding a working one when I was a lad and was curious what that sound was.
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
A great report. Finding so many must of taken ages. Im astounded you found that one by the road side. Lots of hard slog gone into this. Highly appreciated, and a lovely read and view.
 
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