I can’t really begin to describe how beautiful this place is. It closed in 1946 and gradually rotted away. In 1996 an entrepreneur bought it and in 2001 he got an English Heritage grant (£530k) to help refurbish it and turn into “The Old Famous Pump House” restaurant/pub. It seems that the money ran out though, and now lies abandoned again…
A chimney would’ve towered out from the central part of the building.
Inside
Inside is a sight to behold. I have never seen anything like it!
Underground…
Beams
Two massive beam engines dominate the top floor of the building. These ultimately led to the demise of the building – the vibrations from them weakened the building’s structure. They’ll probably never run again…
Chimney & Stairs
The old chimney – inside has been filled up to the hole, so no falling in…
The stairwells around the old chimney were rather labyrinthesque.
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Lovely photos. It looks very much like Papplewick Pumping Station in Nottinghamshire – that place is fully working and they have open days several times a year (it’s open most of the time, but have limited days when it’s “in steam”). It’s quite impressive seeing all of this stuff moving!
I’ve always wanted to get into this building, living locally I pass it regularily. I;ve always had an interest in old cinema buildings but this one turned my head. I understand one of the reasons the pub was not completed was due to lack of funds and it becoming grade 1 listed. Fantastic photos, I envy tthe fact you got inside.
I worked here in 1957 installing lighting down the well and was so impresed by these engines it started an lifelong interest in model engineering.The Cruquius website has a 3 dimension animation of this cornish valvegear in operation, well worth a look at. I am glad to see these pictures again as it brings back memories.Exellent photos.