After huge amounts of planning and preparation, construction has begun! Old buildings and portacabins are being torn down to make way for our new cafe, shop, and flexible exhibitions and learning space. Work has also started on our heritage boiler so that we can run our steam pumping engines again.
We still need your help with fundraising!
We still need to raise more money! You can donate online through Charity Choice or through JustGiving. To donate by text, text 'CMOT01 £3' / 'CMOT01 £5' / 'CMOT01 £10' to 70070. Or why not Adopt an Object - for yourself or as a unique gift.
If your company is interested in sponsoring a display, an interactive exhibit, or a building, get in touch to find out more about our corporate sponsorship packages.
About the project
What has happened recently
The BIG news is that construction has started! On Monday 12th March, local award-winning construction company Millcam took over the site to start the capital works. The building work includes creating a new entrance with better wheelchair access, constructing a café and shop, and building an exhibitions and learning space. Millcam expect work to finish in October. After this, the Curatorial Team will install new displays on the Pumping Station, Cambridge companies Pye and Cambridge Instrument Company, and local industries such as ironworking, brewing, and brickmaking - and generally make the Museum ready to welcome visitors!
It took months of planning and preparation to get the site ready for construction. Huge amounts of work was done behind the scenes to pack and move the collections, clear the site for work, and secure the last planning discharges. A particularly dramatic day was when the Logistics Team battled a blizzard to move large objects, such as our sewage crane and Foster's Mill fire pump, out of the way!
Thorne International Boiler Services have started work on the Pumping Station's heritage boiler. Boiler No. 4 was installed in 1923 as an additional source of steam for the Hathorn Davey steam pumping engines, but later became the main boiler. Thorne are repairing the boiler system so that the Museum can run the steam engines again and visitors can see the Pumping Station in action. Non-destructive testing of the boiler did not show any major issues and work is progressing well.
The Museum has almost completed a new pump display in the Valve Yard. The Foster's Mill fire pump and the Riverside Pumping Station pump have been moved into a prominent spot at the front of the Museum site, along with a Kent flow recorder, also from the Riverside Pumping Station. Riverside Pumping Station took over from our Victorian Cheddars Lane Pumping Station in 1968 and it was just over the fence from where the pumps are now. The fire pump from Foster's Mill is currently being conserved, which you can support through adopting it.
