Did You Know?
- The Waterworks Museum was established some 45 years ago in 1974.
- Volunteers run every aspect of the Museum – we have no paid staff.
- The main Museum building is one of less than 6% of all listed buildings in the UK that is graded Grade II*.
- In 2000, the Victorian Broomy Hill Pumping Station was placed on the listed buildings ‘at risk’ register and at risk of closure.
- To create the Noel Meeke Heritage Water Park a team of 30 volunteers gave over 2,300 hours of their time.
- In 2015, volunteers welcomed over 5,400 visitors to the Museum (a record year).
- The Museum’s display in the Rotherwas Building is the only permanent exhibition dedicated to Hereford in WWII.
- The Museum’s collection totals over 3,500 items (including books, documents and records relating to the water industry).
- The Museum’s oldest exhibit, a horse drawn fire engine, dates to 1805 and was used on the estate at Stoke Edith.
- The oldest part of the Museum is 160 year old and dates back to 1856 and the creation of Hereford City’s first municipal water supply.
- Our working triple-expansion steam engine, which stands two-floors high, was built in 1895 and continued in use supplying water to Hereford until 1952.
- The collection includes many important items of our industrial heritage, which but for the intervention of the Museum would have been lost forever.
