• Cambridge Museum of Technology (map)
  • The Old Pumping Station
  • Cambridge, CB5 8LD
  • United Kingdom

The Restoration of Boiler No. 4

A talk for Cambridgeshire Industrial Archaeology Society by John Sheppard

Free for CIAS members, £2 for Museum members, £3 for non-members

Cambridge Museum of Technology is based in Cambridge’s Victorian sewage pumping station, where steam engines pumped away the town’s sewage. After the Pumping Station opened as a museum, Boiler No. 4 has continued to fuel the magnificent and internationally-important Hathorn Davey steam engines for visitors to enjoy.

However, in 2014, the Babcock and Wilcox boiler that had provided steam for over 90 years finally broke. As part of the Museum’s recent redevelopment project, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England funded its restoration and in March 2018, Thorne International Boiler Services started work. The restoration is now complete and Boiler No. 4 passed its testing, but what was meant to have bee an eight week project, took over 14 months.

Join John Sheppard, Chair of the Museum’s Technical Committee, to hear about the ups and downs of the rollercoaster restoration and the Museum’s ongoing work to get the Hathorn Davey engines back in steam.

Practical information

There is no need to book a place. Please just turn up and pay cash on the door.

The talk will take place in the Pye Building. Please enter the Museum through the staff entrance on Cheddars Lane and come into the Pye Building, which is the black wooden building on the right.

For details of transport and parking, please see the visit section of our website.

About Cambridge Industrial Archaeology Society (CIAS)

The Society's aim is to study and record the industrial history and artefacts of Cambridgeshire. It has links with the Association of Industrial Archaeology (AIA) and is one of the founder members of the East of England Industrial Archaeology Conference (EERIAC). The Society's meetings, visits and conferences are open to everyone with an interest in industrial history. Registered charity number: 265592.

The Society hosts a talk at Cambridge Museum of Technology at 7:30pm on the second Monday of the month from October to April.

Membership for October 2019 to September 2020 costs. £15

To join the Society or to renew membership, please contact:
Stephen Hipkin, 82, Frog End, Shepreth, Royston, Herts, SG8 9RF, telephone: 01763 261 915

For programme and EERIAC event information, please contact:
Robin Chandler, 12 Church Street, Hemingford Grey, PE28 9DF, telephone: 01480 465571

About EERIAC

East of England Industrial Archaeology Conference (EERIAC) is normally held on the second Saturday in June each year. EERIAC 2020 will be held on 6th June at Cambridge Museum of Technology. There will be two talks in the morning, followed by Museum and boat tours in the afternoon.