Old Chalford Water Pumping Stn

fluffy5518 · Apr 1, 2009

Afternoon all !!
On our way to RAF Chipping Norton and the ex P/O/W camp at Springhill Lodge t'other day we came across this little beauty all alone on the side of the A44.I assume that it was once a water pumping stn but is now just an empty and derelict shell.
Why such a huge roof ?

A lot of ex Water board properties also carry the year of build.

Inside all has been removed and although the place has been vadalised it is still in excellent shape overall !!

Does anyone know of any websites that list locations or any details of these ex water works builings as they all seem fairly individual and are an interesting explore.?

Black Shuck · Apr 1, 2009

I like that station a lot. Good shots. But I have no idea why the roof is so huge.

Foxylady · Apr 1, 2009

fluffy5518 said:
...they all seem fairly individual and are an interesting explore.?

One of the things I love about these sort of buildings...tis a great little find.

Just a thought about the roof...purely a guess, mind...is there seems to be a small window in the gable wall. Did you see any sign of a trap door in the ceiling at all? I'm thinking that maybe more machinery/equipment was stored up there.

boothy · Apr 1, 2009

I ;m defo gonna go with storage,proberly a large water tank or somthing,Was there a hatch in the roof ?

jonney · Apr 1, 2009

The only references I can find are all about the canal that must run near there so I'm guessing that it could have been used to keep the canal levels right, but don't quote me on that. I'm going to go with Foxy and Boothy on the storage/water tank. Here is a link that might be some good

http://www.thameshead.com/forum1/viewtopic.php?t=41

Cheers Jon

fluffy5518 · Apr 2, 2009

Hi all :
Yes, there was a hatch in the ceiling but only an ordinary household loft hatch type thingy !!Newage shone a torch into it (from ground level) and assured me he could see nothing except the roof.There was also no sign(That i can remember) of any pipe work coming from the roof area or any holes where pipework would have been!!I remeber saying to him that it would be a great place for a model railway layout--but,as usual,he just ignored me

!!!
STRANGE EH !!
PS jonney-I think you have got the wrong area,this Old Chalford is near to Chipping Norton,between Oxford and Moreton in Marsh !!However,i still enjoyed reading the artical-thanks for taking the trouble to post !!