Pump Recovery at Sedgwick Park November 2015

I guess most of you have the odd project or two on the go over the winter period. For a few of us in Horsham, it was a pump recovery just before Xmas. While running the High Beeches Hayward Tyler engine, Dave Carpenter and I were approached by Robin and Sally Nugent who thought they had something of interest in their back garden. We didn’t wait long before setting  up a meeting to go see what they had. Robin and Sally have a cottage adjacent to Sedgwick Park nr Horsham and own some of the old estate.  Just off the private road in front of their cottage was the remains of an old private water pumping station that supplied water up to Sedgwick Park House.

The wooden pump house and brick built water tanks were installed sometime around 1905 but the building fell down a few years ago. The remains were cleared and used to fill the two brick water tanks, considered a safety hazard due to their being open, flooded  and  set into the ground. When we viewed the site the water pump was still in situ but the engine had long gone with only the engine plinth remaining. The engine was perhaps  a  small  Hornsby  judging  by  the three bolt fixing. The original engine had been replaced by a vertical engine and this later engine had also long gone.

The water pump was an impressive three cylinder shallow well pump made by The Horsham Engineering Works, located in Foundry Lane Horsham and which  later became Lintotts, well known for assembling lighting plants based on Ruston engines. This particular pump has 1904 cast into the pressure vessel and is therefore an early example. Robin, the owner (who is a keen steam enthusiast) wanted to clear the site and asked if it was worth saving. As a locally made pump we agreed to remove it for safe keeping as another winter open to the elements would likely be damaging.  The removal of the pump was completed by Ian, Dave, Mark and Myself in December and it is now safely stored under cover while we decide on a long term home for it. Still in situ was the old cast iron engine exhaust pot which has a heavy and long cast exhaust tube with flared top, it took all four of us to carry it away !

A few other pumps from this manufacturer survive, the British Engineerium at Hove exhibited a similar but later Lintott pump, sold after the engineerium site changed hands. A smaller Lintott pump resides at Horsham Museum and another is with one of our club members. We would like to see the pump installed and exhibited in the Sussex area but at the moment we have no firm plans as to where it might go. Also our attempts to find any early history of The Horsham Engineering Works  have drawn only limited results but this is very much work in progress. Footnote: Robin has kindly donated £50 to SEAMS club funds to help with this and any other projects we might get involved with.

Richard Amos