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Papplewick Pumping Station
Britain’s finest Victorian Waterworks

Scenes from the 1940s re-enactmanet of 2011

The event will feature over two hundred invited Second World War re-enactors in military and civilian costume, displays of 1940s cars and vehicles, wartime musical performances from Dickie Lines and Kevin Mack, mock battles and Robert Burns, Englans’s greatest Winston Churchill impersonator. There will also be stalls selling period clothing and memorabilia and much more.

The Pumping Station’s famous 1884 James Watt beam engines will also be in operation on both days along with the former Linby Colliery Winding engine and a miniature railway. There will also be a host of activities for children of all ages.

“This is the fourth year we have held a 1940s event at the Pumping Station” said Museum Director Ashley Smart. “This year’s event is going to be bigger than ever, we will be celebrating all branches of the armed forces and civilian organisations. It will be an exciting, informative and action packed day for all the family including mock battles and individual displays throughout the grounds of the site. There will be musical entertainment throughout including singing from Dickie Lines and Kevin Mack. The re-enactors are incredibly detailed in their portrayal of the war years so it should be like stepping back in time.”

The event organisers are confident for a very successful weekend, said a spokesman “We have acted in many 1940s events throughout the whole country and the Pumping Station is the most unique location I have ever attended. Everyone attending will be given a FREE identity card, ration book and badges etc (subject to availability). Refreshments and FREE car parking will also be available throughout the day.”

The 1940s weekend will take place on Saturday October 22nd and Sunday 23rd, 11am - 5pm. Admission charges apply with a £1 discount for those in 1940s costume (click here to be taken to view full list of admission charges). Re-enactors in all types of 1940s military and civilian clothing are welcome to attend the event.

Note: vintage vehicles must be pre-booked due to limitations of space on site.

Song and Dance at Papplewick Pumping Station Sept 24th & 25th

This Sunday Papplewick Pumping Station will be celebrating harvest with performances by the Radcliffe on Trent Male Voice Choir and the Black Pig Border Morris dance team. The fifty strong choir, who perform a variety of music and styles, are particularly looking forward to the event, “the Engine House has superb acoustics, very similar to a church. The choir will sound fantastic inside” said Concert Secretary Rod Haslam. The Black Pig Border Morris will also be performing their special, high energy Border Morris dances. “It is a very vigorous form of Morris dancing using sticks and bells that is traditionally performed during the winter months” said a spokesperson. “It is quite a spectacle to witness a Border Morris performance especially with our costumes and painted faces to help ward off the evil sprits!”

The choir will be performing two half sets in the Engine House at 12:45pm and 2:30pm while the Black Pig Border Morris will be dancing in the grounds at 12:15pm, 2pm and 3:15pm. There will also be classic vehicle display by the Daimler & Lanchester Owners Club.

On the Saturday there will be workshops and life saving demonstrations by the Linby and Hucknall St John Ambulance as part of the nationwide Save A Life campaign to teach people the valuable skills of resuscitation.

The James Watt beam engines, miniature railway, Linby Colliery winding engine will all be in steam and tours to the underground reservoir will be available subject to weather.

The Station will be open from 12pm-5pm on Saturday Sept 24th and from 11am-5pm on Sunday 25th.

August steaming fun at Papplewick Pumping Station, Aug 28/29 - flyer

The Station will be in full steam this Bank Holiday August Sunday and Monday including trips down our underground reservoir. On Monday there will be a host of family entertainment including Steve Pike aka Dangerous Dave who will performing a variety of juggling, unicycle and circus skills around the site between 11am-3pm; and there will also be an opportunity to get your face expertly painted by Dawn Shadlock of Funtastic Faces. For more information on Steve please see the website:

An excellent feature on Thomas Hawksley and Papplewick Pumping Station was shown on the BBC East Midlands Today programme on August 16th. The clip is the first TV broadcast to feature our underground reservoir, which can be visited on Steam weekends. Our next steaming is August 28th & 29th from 11am.

To watch the clip, presented by John Holmes, click on the link:

The perfect way to spend a mid summer weekend!

Papplewick Pumping Station was visited by the Rolls-Royce & Bentley Enthusiasts Club on the 17th of July. Click thumbnail below to view a range of images from this occasion.

Looking down our 200ft well at the Pumping Station. This was taken on July 4th when the well underwent a visual survey.

This is a view looking down the Pumping Station’s 200ft well taken during a recent visual survey in July. Just visible is one of two Rising Mains (cast iron pipe) that would have contained a pump rod connected to one of the Station’s James Watt beam engines used for lifting the water up to the surface. The well is 18ft x 7ft wide and oval shaped; it was dug using hand implements by a specialist firm from London. The survey is part of a project to cap the well and replace the very rotten wood flooring that covers the well head. We are hoping to have some video footage of the survey on the website soon that will show images at the bottom of the well under the water, so watch this space!

News from 2010 from Papplewick Pumping Station

The First Annual Papplewick Pumping Station Annual Lecture, held on 3 November 2010, was hosted by the University of Nottingham and Adam Hart-Davis presented a lively lecture entitled ‘Wet behind the Engineers’.

A digital recording of this lecture in mp3 format (56 Kb) is available to download here:

Further information on the lecture viewable here:

Click for more recent news.