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The Old Waterworks in Gheluvelt Park.

Mr Cyril Beechey, The Last Superintendant and Water Inspector for Worcester City Council at The Waterworks.

Worcester Waterworks

The waterworks is a Victorian building, the original part of which dates from 1858. The building is situated in Gheluvelt Park, near the river.

Outbreaks of cholera in Worcester in the early nineteenth century were blamed on the quality and availability of the water supply. This led to the construction of a sophisticated waterworks at Barbourne in 1857-8 designed by Thomas Hawkesley, the greatest authority on municipal water supplies.

The original river supplies were completely unfiltered, it was many years before clean drinking water was introduced, giving an immediate benefit to the residents, with a dramatic drop in the cases of typhoid.

The City council made many improvements in the following years with two additions to the pumphouse one in 1868 and later in 1902 as well as improving filtration technology.

Severn Trent the local water supplier is still using part of the Waterworks.

Recently the Worcestershire Duckworth Trust has converted the main building in to the Community Environment Centre. The centre demonstrates technologies that can be applied to home and office to reduce the impact on the environment of everyday actions.
The centre has underfloor heating provided from geothermal boreholes situated under the adjoining parkland.
Wind turbines supply electrical power; solar panels are installed on the roof.
Rainwater from the roof is stored to flush toilets. Sensor taps and low flush systems also prevent water wastage.
Sheep’s wool insulation has been used throughout the building, to reduce energy use.
Other environmentally friendly materials have been used in the construction, including natural clay plastering, also timber used is from sustainable sources, coconut fibre carpets have been utilised in the offices. The refurbished pump house building was opened to the public on August 25/ 2004.

Today 9/1/06 a local plumber installing solar panels was suprised to find huge cellars or tanks under the waterworks, still intact but a little damp. He estimated a depth of at least twenty feet with interconnecting tunnels.

The waterworks consisted of huge concrete settlement tanks twenty to thirty feet deep, these were filled with clean sand and the water filtered through to the mains. The sand was delivered from the Severn Barges by a network of two foot gauge railway lines with turntables at each corner and dozens of side tipping hopper wagons made by Hudson’s of Leeds. Max.

In the 1770’s there was a stream running from the Severn called Chacewater. It crossed the present Park Avenue into Lavender Road and drove a large waterwheel, which drove the pumps to raise the water up the Tower to supply the city. Recent clearance of the waterworks revealed the remains of the pump house. This is where a high flood could run. Max

Water Tower at Gheluvelt.
Barbourne brook was made navigable by the Romans from their Pope ( Roman ) Ironworks which was on Gheulevelt Park land. The medieval high bridge allowed small trows to work up the brook with iron ore and bring forged products down. The bow of a small Trow dredged out of the stream lies on the bank. The water tower was a storage tank filled by a waterwheel in the Chacewater to supply Worcester with drinking water. Max