Abingdon’s Gas Engines

Abingdon, now in Oxfordshire, was historically the county town of Berkshire having changed in 1974 as part of the Local Government Act 1972.  In August 2021 BIAG visited the town for a talk and demonstration of the Gas Engines and Pump located in the town museum given by Ruth Weinberg.

As Abingdon grew in the late 1900s it began to need more and more water supplies for both its growing population and for the town’s industries such as brewing.  The local government decided to use the water from an artesian well in The Square, but to do this it needed mechanical intervention to supplement the pressure.  A Crossley gas engine was installed in the basement of the County Hall which then powered a J Tylor & Sons pump, which was also placed in the basement.  The water was pumped to the top of the County Hall form where the natural pressure allowed it to flow through the water mains.

The engine and pumps are still in the same location, although they were restored in the 2012, which is a small barrel-vaulted room with no windows.  This confined space made the working conditions unpleasant both in terms of noise and due to the fumes from the gas engine.  Thankfully, when Ruth turned on the system the electrical systems that now operate were quite quiet, but it is easy to imagine how it would have been.  It was wonderful, however, to see such old machinery operating in its original setting, and the one engine that was not converted to run via an electric motor.

The engines and pump were last used in 1947 after an electric pump was installed in the well in The Square that provided the pressure needed for the water mains. The site of the well in The Square is now next to the War Memorial but the inspection hatches are still visible if you look.

Bibliography and Sources:

• Discover Abingdon – Abingdon’s gas engines
• Discover Abingdon – Abingdon’s Water Supply
• Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History – Crossley Brothers
• Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History – J Tylor and Sons