NHER 26142 (Building record) - Pump House, New Mills Yard

The Norfolk Heritage Explorer is a filtered version of the Norfolk HER intended for casual research. Please contact us to consult the full record.

Summary

A single storey red brick pumping station with a blue brick plinth and corners, rebuilt in 1898. It stands on the site of medieval watermills and was first used for pumping a water supply in 1583. Inside the current building is a recently restored pneumatic ejection sewage pump, the only other example of which is in the Houses of Parliament.

Protected Status/Designation

Listed Building (II) 1051923: PUMP HOUSE

Location

Map sheet	TG20NW
Civil Parish	NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Full Description

June 1972. Listed, Grade II.
Listing Description excerpt:
"Pumping station. Rebuilt 1897 by Norwich Corporation.
Red brick with blue brick plinth and corners. Plain tiles. Single storey, six bays to east elevation; recessed bays with segmental arches and block band above. Windows in alternate bays. Ogee and roll moulded brick string course. Overhanging eaves. Hipped with giblet roof."
Information from (S1).
Please consult the National Heritage List for England (S1) for the current listing details.
Amended by P. Beers (HES), 13 March 2020.

See (S2) for details of restoration and also for history of site; watermill mentioned 1429 destroyed after water disputes in 1442; rebuilt in reign of Edward IV. First used for pumping water supply 1583; fulling mills added later. In disrepair 1853 before 1898 reopening.
E. Rose (NLA), 21 December 2002.

For a more comprehensive history of the site, see (S3).
E. Rose (NLA), 8 December 2003.

For further details of Norwich sewerage system see (S4).
E. Rose (NLA), 22 December 2005.

Built on the site of a medieval watermill, The first water pump was placed here in 1584 to pump water around Norwich. The site was made redundant by the Heigham Waterworks and eventually pulled down after flooding in 1893. In 1898 the site was re-commisioned as a sewage pumping station until 1973 when the workload was too great and pumping had to be moved elsewhere.
See NIAS records (S5) and fiche (S6) for further details.
W. Arnold (HES) 19 January 2011.

Associated Sources (11)

--- SNF58263 Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 291.
--- SNF77975 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. How 'Old Crome' gave breadth to city's New Mills. 4 September.
--- SNF97791 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2011. Industrial heritage is threatened. 7 April.
--- SNF97799 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2011. Pumping station must be preserved. 11 May.
--- SNF7067 Publication: Messent, C. J. W.. 1939. The Old Water Mills of Norfolk. p 43.
<S1> SNF48662 Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1051923.
<S2> SNF51686 Article in Serial: Durst, D.. 2002. New Mills Air Compressor.. NIAS Journal. Vol 7, no 2. pp 54-72.
<S3> SNF53266 Article in Serial: Funnell, B.. 2003. New Mills Archive.. NIAS Journal. Vol 7, No 3. p 87ff.
<S4> SNF60258 Article in Serial: Funnell, B. 2005. New Mills and the Norwich Sewers. NIAS Journal. Vol 7, No 5. pp 67-76.
<S5> SNF57617 Archive: NIAS. Norfolk Industrial Archaeology Society Records.
<S6> SNF8808 Fiche: Exists.

Site and Feature Types and Periods (4)

Object Types (0)

Related NHER Records (0)

Find out more...(1)

Norwich (Parish Summary)

Record last edited

Mar 16 2021 7:25AM