Description
At Claverton, the Kennet and Avon Canal is cut into the side of the Avon valley 48 feet (15 m) above the River Avon. The pumping station is located in a pump house built of Bath Stone, located at river level and separated from the canal by the Wessex Main Line. It was designed by John Rennie and built by Fox of Bristol. The pump house has a slate hipped roof. The wheelhouse projects to the west of the pump house and has weatherboard sides. The east gable wall has three doors allowing access to the wheel itself.
Water is diverted from the river by Warleigh Weir, about 200 yards (183 m) upstream. The water flows to the pumping station down a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide leat, which is crossed by a single segmental arch bridge with a central keystone. The water passes over depressing sluices which can be raised or lowered by hand cranking, and then powers a breastshot water wheel. The 24-foot (7 m) wide wheel is in two sections each 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 17 feet (5 m) in diameter with a 9-inch (23 cm) gap between them. The wheel has 48 wooden "starts", supporting 96 float boards each of which is 13 inches (33 cm) by 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 12 feet (3.7 m) and made of Iroko. The breastshot wheel is vertically mounted, and falling water strikes the blades. Breastshot wheels are less efficient than overshot wheels, more efficient than undershot wheels, and are not backshot.
At full power the wheel uses 2 tons (2 tonnes) of water per second and rotates five times a minute. The water wheel drives a flexible coupling to a pit wheel with a diameter of 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m), which has 408 hand-fitted wooden teeth that mesh with a 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 m) cast iron gear, increasing the speed to 16 rpm. From there, cranks drive vertical connecting rods that transfer the energy to two 18-foot (5 m) long cast iron rocking beams made by Boulton and Watt. Each rocking beam drives an 18-inch (0.46 m) diameter lift pump, which also takes its supply from the mill leat. Each pump stroke raises 50 imperial gallons (230 l) imperial gallons (230 litres) of water to the canal via 150 feet (46 m) of 19-inch (0.48 m) diameter cast iron pipe.
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