Ryhope Engines Museum
Encyclopedia
Ryhope
Ryhope is a coastal village along the southern boundary of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. With a population of approximately 14,000, Ryhope is 2.9 miles to the centre of Sunderland, 2.8 miles to the centre of Seaham, and 1 .2 miles from the main A19.The older village...
suburb of Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
, Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
.
The Grade II* listed building is the most visited man-made landmark in Ryhope and is based at The Ryhope Pumping Station
Pumping station
Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure systems, such as the supply of water to canals, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of sewage to processing sites.A pumping station...
, operational for 100 years before closing in 1967.
The volunteer-run museum contains two Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
beam engine
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
s, which are kept in working order by members of the Ryhope Engines Trust. The site is owned by Northumbrian Water
Northumbrian Water
Northumbrian Water Group plc is the holding company for several companies in the water supply, sewerage and waste water industries. NWG's largest subsidiary is Northumbrian Water Limited , which is one of ten companies in England and Wales that are regulated water supply and sewerage utilities...
, successors to the Sunderland & South Shields Water Company which built the complex in the 1860s.
The engines are a near identical pair of double-acting
Double-acting cylinder
A double-acting cylinder in a reciprocating engine is a cylinder in which the working fluid acts alternately on both sides of the piston. This is in contrast to a single-acting cylinder, in which the working fluid acts in one direction only....
compound rotative beam engines by the local North East firm R & W Hawthorn of Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
- 'possibly the finest pair of compound beam engines in Great Britain'. Each beam weighs 22 tons and each flywheel
Flywheel
A flywheel is a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy. Flywheels have a significant moment of inertia, and thus resist changes in rotational speed. The amount of energy stored in a flywheel is proportional to the square of its rotational speed...
18 tons. Both engines can be seen fully operational and in steam on various weekends and bank holidays each year.
The museum also contains three 1908 Lancashire boilers (two of which are still in regular service), a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
's forge, a waterwheel, numerous steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s and pumps, a replica plumber's shop, and many items associated with waterworks. In addition, visitors arriving in the engine house are now able to see to the bottom of the 250-foot well shaft by means of a viewing panel inserted in the floor.
See also
- Tees Cottage Pumping StationTees Cottage Pumping StationTees Cottage Pumping Station is a Victorian pumping station complex at Broken Scar on the A67 near Low Coniscliffe just west of Darlington. The site dates from 1849, and was built to provide drinking water for Darlington and the surrounding area...
for another working example of preserved waterworks engines in County Durham.