An open day visit to Twyford Waterworks near Winchester was worth a visit this morning. I had not visited the works since the pandemic, so it was nice to go there again.

The Chalk bedrock under the site acts as a giant sponge, storing rainwater. Wells are sunk into these aquifers, and water is pumped into the underground reservoirs. The site remains in the ownership of Southern Water, and their modern pumps under the site still takes 15 megalitres of water per day, which is put into the public supply. The old part of the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is run by a trust.

The original wells were sunk in 1898, with the steam pumps installed in 1900.

One of the 3 Badcock and Wilcox boilers for the steam engines.

Later 1930s Diesel pumping engine. (One of 3).

As part of the process, the water was softened, and the site had its own lime kilns. Three extra kilns were added in the 1930s to the original two. Chalk was moved to them from a quarry on a small railway.

The Kilns are known as “flare ” kilns.

Lister locomotive railway engine