Report - Yorkshire Copper Tube Pump House (Knowsley, Dec, 2020)

[urbanchemist]

An also-ran pump house, once part of a factory that made copper pipes on the outskirts of Liverpool.

The factory, called successively ICI Metals, IMI Yorkshire Imperial Metals and then KME Yorkshire Copper Tube, was built in the early 1950s and closed in 2015.

An aerial photo from 1952 when it was still being built, with the pump house and pond on the left.

I assume the main function of the pump house was to cool extruders and presses in the factory.

The offices at the front were demolished quite recently, and the large shed at the back has now been refurbished and turned into warehousing.

It’s just a single room containing switch gear and electric motors, with pipes, and presumably the pumps, in a deeply flooded basement.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Interesting little place. I wonder if they are leaving it, looks so out of place now. Like that last shot, makes me think it was manned all the time.

 

[urbanchemist]

Interesting little place. I wonder if they are leaving it, looks so out of place now. Like that last shot, makes me think it was manned all the time.

Doubt it was manned - ancillary buildings like this on older industrial sites almost always have a phone, presumably so whoever was fixing stuff in there could ring up and say 'is it working now?' or similar.

No idea why it's still there - probably just not obviously in the way, or maybe it was thought it could be useful again in the future.

 

[mingerocket]

Cracking, just my kind of place. Some nice old motors there. Good find

 

[Airfix]

Very interesting report.

 

[dave]

Loving this i see what you mean by heavily flooded basement love the old signage etc you cant beat an ageing pump house.

 

[Speed]

Good to see an update on this place. Tried it about 5 or 6 years ago but failed at most of it. Is the boiler house still at the back with it's crazy water tower? That's about all I managed to explore.

 

[urbanchemist]

Good to see an update on this place. Tried it about 5 or 6 years ago but failed at most of it. Is the boiler house still at the back with it's crazy water tower? That's about all I managed to explore.

Don't know - the last time I went round the back was early 2018, and didn't even think to climb the tower (the pump house was locked then).
I always meant to check the offices with the nice windows at the the front, then one day they were gone. Bit of a fail all round really.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Doubt it was manned - ancillary buildings like this on older industrial sites almost always have a phone, presumably so whoever was fixing stuff in there could ring up and say 'is it working now?' or similar.

No idea why it's still there - probably just not obviously in the way, or maybe it was thought it could be useful again in the future.

Yep maybe, I suppose it could be useful again.