Not the biggest explore in the world (more of a mini-report), but a beautiful building, with a nice surprise in the basement, that deserves to be documented.
Firepool Pumphouse is a listed early Victorian structure that sits at the intersection of the canal, rail, and river near the centre of Taunton, Somerset.
It’s role was to pump water from the river system to the massive header tank that can be seen in the pictures that follow.
This tank fed the mainlines steam trains.
Sadly neglected the Pumphouse now stands in the centre of a land clearance site, where it is set to be redeveloped into a restaurant/bar /office/yuppy flat complex (still better that than demolished)
Basically stripped, and f*cked inside:
But this places crowning glory is in the basement, because they never took the pump away:
As an idea of scale, I'm six foot, and didn't come up to the top of that white line sprayed on the right-hand end of the pump in the above picture.
Shot through a first floor window the crankshaft measures a couple of feet in diameter.
Very overlooked by the footpath that runs along the opposite bank of the canal this site made a nice, late afternoon, 'High-Vis and hard-hat' wander.
Firepool Pumphouse is a listed early Victorian structure that sits at the intersection of the canal, rail, and river near the centre of Taunton, Somerset.
It’s role was to pump water from the river system to the massive header tank that can be seen in the pictures that follow.
This tank fed the mainlines steam trains.
Sadly neglected the Pumphouse now stands in the centre of a land clearance site, where it is set to be redeveloped into a restaurant/bar /office/yuppy flat complex (still better that than demolished)
Basically stripped, and f*cked inside:
But this places crowning glory is in the basement, because they never took the pump away:
As an idea of scale, I'm six foot, and didn't come up to the top of that white line sprayed on the right-hand end of the pump in the above picture.
Shot through a first floor window the crankshaft measures a couple of feet in diameter.
Very overlooked by the footpath that runs along the opposite bank of the canal this site made a nice, late afternoon, 'High-Vis and hard-hat' wander.
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