Three more wind-driven pumps I did on the drive home form Taunton as a change from looking at water-powered things.
They all happened to be Climax pumps overtaken by trees, hence the title.
Assuming they are Climaxes - if a name appears at all it only seems to be on the air ballast - they were made by Thomas and Son of Worcester, who in 1913 claimed to be the ‘largest makers of windmills in England’.
According to pump manufacturers
“The owner of Thomas & Son was a well-liked local benefactor, fondly known as "Pumpy Thomas", who erected a row of houses for his workers, named "Windmill Cottages".
The earliest authenticated date for the company is 1903, although there are references that point to an earlier date of the 1890s.
At a later date the company relocated to South Africa, where Climax windmills are still made.”
In the order in which I visited them:
Nynehead. A typical example, and not in bad condition - the fan still turns a bit, moving what’s left of the pump rod up and down.
The tower is in the trees on the left and probably served the farm behind judging by the direction of the outlet pipe.
The base of the tower with an overgrown hut on the right containing the remains of an electrical pump.
The wind-powered pump cylinder, shallow well since it’s next to a bog so the water table isn’t far down.
Some pictures of the mechanism for winding in the tail - there’s an explanation of the general setup in the previous post although this one is missing its spring.
Winding down the wire rope pulls on a U-shaped strap which has a sliding collar on the top attached to a chain.
The chain runs up through the tube to the tail - it should really go round the pulley in the last pic below.
The pump rod goes through the middle of the tube.
These things are designed so that when the tail is wound parallel to the fan a friction brake also stops the rotation.
A few pictures of the brake mechanism which is a series of links going round the back of the gearbox.
Preston Bowyer. This one had a tree growing right through it.
There didn’t seem to be a pump cylinder at the bottom - the well is probably being used by the electrical pump house next door.
The whole fan bit has snapped off and is hanging down, held by the bent pump rod.
No name on the gearbox that I could see but it looks like a Climax with a square-topped cover.
Coombe. It was beginning to get dark by the time I got to the last one, which is right beside a main road.
What seems to have happened here is that the gearbox on top was replaced by another at the base, driven by an engine or motor, now gone.
The original gearbox was still up there, minus its cover which was lying down on the ground.
I don’t know when Thomas and Son stopped installing wind pumps in the UK but these three all date from around 1930.
There are a few more recent-looking ones around although they weren’t running either - in fact I’ve yet to come across a working example.
However spinning wind pumps, including Climaxes, are still a common site in other parts of the world (Australia, Africa, the Americas).
They all happened to be Climax pumps overtaken by trees, hence the title.
Assuming they are Climaxes - if a name appears at all it only seems to be on the air ballast - they were made by Thomas and Son of Worcester, who in 1913 claimed to be the ‘largest makers of windmills in England’.
According to pump manufacturers
“The owner of Thomas & Son was a well-liked local benefactor, fondly known as "Pumpy Thomas", who erected a row of houses for his workers, named "Windmill Cottages".
The earliest authenticated date for the company is 1903, although there are references that point to an earlier date of the 1890s.
At a later date the company relocated to South Africa, where Climax windmills are still made.”
In the order in which I visited them:
Nynehead. A typical example, and not in bad condition - the fan still turns a bit, moving what’s left of the pump rod up and down.
The tower is in the trees on the left and probably served the farm behind judging by the direction of the outlet pipe.
The base of the tower with an overgrown hut on the right containing the remains of an electrical pump.
The wind-powered pump cylinder, shallow well since it’s next to a bog so the water table isn’t far down.
Some pictures of the mechanism for winding in the tail - there’s an explanation of the general setup in the previous post although this one is missing its spring.
Winding down the wire rope pulls on a U-shaped strap which has a sliding collar on the top attached to a chain.
The chain runs up through the tube to the tail - it should really go round the pulley in the last pic below.
The pump rod goes through the middle of the tube.
These things are designed so that when the tail is wound parallel to the fan a friction brake also stops the rotation.
A few pictures of the brake mechanism which is a series of links going round the back of the gearbox.
Preston Bowyer. This one had a tree growing right through it.
There didn’t seem to be a pump cylinder at the bottom - the well is probably being used by the electrical pump house next door.
The whole fan bit has snapped off and is hanging down, held by the bent pump rod.
No name on the gearbox that I could see but it looks like a Climax with a square-topped cover.
Coombe. It was beginning to get dark by the time I got to the last one, which is right beside a main road.
What seems to have happened here is that the gearbox on top was replaced by another at the base, driven by an engine or motor, now gone.
The original gearbox was still up there, minus its cover which was lying down on the ground.
I don’t know when Thomas and Son stopped installing wind pumps in the UK but these three all date from around 1930.
There are a few more recent-looking ones around although they weren’t running either - in fact I’ve yet to come across a working example.
However spinning wind pumps, including Climaxes, are still a common site in other parts of the world (Australia, Africa, the Americas).
