Kennet and Avon Canal
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal.
The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.
The two river stretches were made navigable in the early 18th century, and the 57-mile (92 km) canal section was constructed between 1794 and 1810. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the canal gradually fell into disuse after the opening of the Great Western Railway who acquired the canal undertaking in 1852.
In the latter part of the 20th century the canal was restored in stages, largely by volunteers and reopened in full in 1990.
The photographs in this gallery are all taken at Crofton home to the Crofton Pumping Station.
This preserved engine house is home to two Cornish type beam engines similar to the type used for mine pumping.
Number 1 engine, built by Boulton and Watt in 1812 and rebuilt as a Cornish engine in the 1840s by Harvey & Company of Hayle, is a single-acting, condensing engine with a bore of 42.25 inches (1073 mm), a stroke of 7 feet (2134 mm) and indicated power of 38.6 horsepower (28.8 kW). It drives a 30-inch (762 mm) lift pump capable of lifting 2274 lb (1031 kg), or approximately one ton of water, per stroke, at a rate of 11 strokes a minute.
Number 2 engine, built by Harvey and Co. of Hayle in 1846 as a double-acting Sims patent combined cylinder engine it is a single-acting, condensing engine with a bore of 42 inches (1067 mm), a stroke of 7 feet 8 inches (2337 mm) and indicated power of 42 horsepower (31 kW). It drives a 30-inch (762 mm) force pump capable of lifting 2235 pounds (1014 kg), or approximately one ton of water, per stroke, at a rate of 10.2 strokes a minute.
Read MoreThe name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.
The two river stretches were made navigable in the early 18th century, and the 57-mile (92 km) canal section was constructed between 1794 and 1810. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the canal gradually fell into disuse after the opening of the Great Western Railway who acquired the canal undertaking in 1852.
In the latter part of the 20th century the canal was restored in stages, largely by volunteers and reopened in full in 1990.
The photographs in this gallery are all taken at Crofton home to the Crofton Pumping Station.
This preserved engine house is home to two Cornish type beam engines similar to the type used for mine pumping.
Number 1 engine, built by Boulton and Watt in 1812 and rebuilt as a Cornish engine in the 1840s by Harvey & Company of Hayle, is a single-acting, condensing engine with a bore of 42.25 inches (1073 mm), a stroke of 7 feet (2134 mm) and indicated power of 38.6 horsepower (28.8 kW). It drives a 30-inch (762 mm) lift pump capable of lifting 2274 lb (1031 kg), or approximately one ton of water, per stroke, at a rate of 11 strokes a minute.
Number 2 engine, built by Harvey and Co. of Hayle in 1846 as a double-acting Sims patent combined cylinder engine it is a single-acting, condensing engine with a bore of 42 inches (1067 mm), a stroke of 7 feet 8 inches (2337 mm) and indicated power of 42 horsepower (31 kW). It drives a 30-inch (762 mm) force pump capable of lifting 2235 pounds (1014 kg), or approximately one ton of water, per stroke, at a rate of 10.2 strokes a minute.
