Pinchbeck Engine Museum

About the museum

The Pinchbeck Engine was built in 1833 to drain land around Spalding and Pinchbeck in the Lincolnshire Fens. Earlier drainage works under an Act of 1801 had not worked well enough, and a further Act of 1832 appointed trustees to build steam-powered engines on the Blue Gowt drain. The new engine replaced six wind-driven scoop wheel pumps, which fell into disrepair and could only work when the wind blew.

It is a 20 horse-power A-frame low-pressure condensing beam engine. In a typical year it lifted an average of about three million tons of water from the land, at a rate of 7,500 gallons per minute. As drainage technology developed, steam engines were replaced by diesel engines and then by electric pumps, and the Pinchbeck Engine was replaced by an electrically powered station in 1952.

The former pumping station building is now a museum owned by the Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board. Visitors can learn about the drainage of the Fens and explore the coal store, the boiler room, the scoop wheel and the blacksmith’s shop. The owner has announced that the museum will not open in 2026.

Highlights

• Restored 1833 beam engine, the Pinchbeck Engine
• Scoop wheel, boiler room and coal store
• Blacksmith’s shop
• Displays on the drainage of the Fens

Permanent exhibitions

• The Pinchbeck Engine – A restored 1833 A-frame low-pressure condensing beam engine of 20 horse-power, housed in its original pumping station building.
• Drainage of the Fens – Displays on fen drainage with the coal store, boiler room, scoop wheel and blacksmith’s shop.

Founded

1979

Operated by

Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission has been free in earlier seasons.

Accessibility

The museum will not be open in 2026.

Kids & families

The museum will not be open in 2026.

Getting there & parking

The museum lies half a mile off the A16. From the south, after the roundabout on the A16 for the industrial estate, continue about 200 yards towards Boston and turn right onto West Marsh Road. There are no brown signs for the museum.

Amenities & dining

The museum will not be open in 2026.

Events & venue rental

The museum will not be open in 2026.