Boulton & Paul Water Elevator lift 1928
I posted a cine film still of the old water pump which once stood on the green at Horning on this previous post – I commented that I hadn’t actually seen anything like that before. Well, this week I stumbled across and old 1928 advert for the Boulton & Paul Water Elevator lift …. and it looks remarkably like the one at Horning! With the sales pitch of “no pipes, no valves or suckers – cannot freeze“, it does make me wonder how this worked. I found mention that Boulton & Paul had exhibited a chain lifting system for raising water from wells in 1920, so was it a chain and bucket mechanism? Any information, as ever, will be gratefully received!
Boulton & Paul bungalow advert 1933
It makes perfect sense that the pump would have come from Boulton & Paul who were based at the Thorpe Yard works on Norwich riverside for many years. From humble beginnings as an ironmongery shop in Cockey Lane in Norwich which was set up by William Moore, Boulton & Paul went on to produce a vast range of products including agricultural implements and buildings, fencing, gates, electric generators, kitchen ranges, conservatories, glasshouses, sheds, garages and summerhouses, and a range of sectional buildings and bungalows, some of which can still be found around Broadland. The advert on the left dates from the early 1930s and shows a four roomed bungalow which could be bought for the princely sum of £116. In 1915 they also began building aircraft, producing over 1,500 Sopwith Camels, and were later commissioned to build the framework for the ill-fated R101 airship. The Thorpe yard closed in 1986 and in the 1990s the site was cleared and the riverside retail development was built.
A concise history of Boulton & Paul, written by Joyce Gurney-Read, can be found on the Norwich Heritage Economic & Regeneration Trust website.
I saw a Bolton & Paul in operation at a “museum” at Carnarvon in Western Australia. It had been moved there as a display after having been used on farms in the region. I was intrigued by its operation. Water was raised from a make shift well via a semi-enclosed chain. It moved a reasonable volume of water.
The sign at the display mention another, dis-used pump like this one at Birdsville in Queensland, Australia. I would like more information on these devices.
I hope you find this information useful.
It’s wonderful to hear that there is still a working example in Australia – Boulton & Paul certainly did ship their products far and wide! Many thanks for getting in contact.