Newcomen Private Steaming Day and Centennial Celebration at Crofton Pumping Station, Friday, 26 June 2020.

All Newcomen Members are invited to a private steaming day and centenary celebration at Crofton Pumping Station, Great Bedwyn, Wilts SN8 3DN on Friday 26 June 2020, admission from 10.30am.

Dating from 1807-09, Crofton Pumping Station owes its design to John Rennie, engineer to the Kennet and Avon Canal Company. Its buildings include a sizeable engine house, which accommodates an 1812 Boulton and Watt engine, and an engine purchased from Messrs Harvey of Hayle in 1846. Since Newcomen members Ian Broom and Geoff Wallis played a significant part in restoring the engines and boilers, Crofton is a particularly fitting location at which to mark the Society’s first hundred years. Ian Broom’s book, The Crofton Story (Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 2013) offers an engaging and beautifully illustrated account of the pumping station’s history and preservation.

The day will include a welcome from the Newcomen Society President; a talk on John Rennie’s association with the site; guided tours of the engine house from Crofton volunteers and a demonstration and display of work by members of the Society of Ornamental Turners.

The nearest railway station to the site is Bedwyn; otherwise, it is accessible by road; for comprehensive directions go to www.croftonbeamengines.org/plan-your-visit. Parking will be available in a field close to the site.

The licensed café, the Engineman’s Rest, will be open if you wish to purchase lunch at the site. Otherwise, please feel free to bring your own picnic.

Tickets, to include light refreshments, cost £20 per head and is open to Newcomen Members and their guests only (please login to your membership to access the ticket link). If you are not a member and wish to attend, feel free to join the Society here