Ryhope Engines Museum

About the museum

The museum occupies Ryhope Pumping Station, built in 1868 to supply drinking water to the Sunderland area. The Sunderland and South Shields Water Company bought the land in 1864, and the engineer Thomas Hawksley prepared the designs the following year. The company installed two beam engines made by R & W Hawthorn at a cost of £9,000, each rated at 100 horsepower.

Six original Cornish boilers were replaced by Lancashire boilers in 1908. Three of those survive and two are still used regularly. The station supplied water for about 100 years. Commercial pumping stopped in 1967, because falling water tables raised the risk of brackish water and new reservoirs such as Derwent and Kielder could deliver cheaper, softer water.

Volunteers have run the site as a museum for more than 50 years, and the Ryhope Engines Trust, a registered charity, looks after the engines. The pumping station is a Grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument. It is described as one of the finest single industrial monuments in the North East of England. On steaming days the engines are set in motion, and the museum receives support from Northumbrian Water.

Highlights

• Two 100 horsepower beam engines built by R & W Hawthorn
• Engines in motion on steam and event days
• Surviving Lancashire boilers from 1908, two still in regular use
• Grade II* listed building and scheduled monument
• Free entry for everyone

Permanent exhibition

• Beam engines – Two 100 horsepower beam engines from the Victorian pumping station, kept in working order by volunteers and steamed on event days.

Operated by

Ryhope Engines Trust

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free for everyone, including on steam and event days, thanks to support from Northumbrian Water.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is just off the B1522, about three miles south of Sunderland city centre, next to Hopewood Park Hospital, and is signposted from several points in Ryhope village. what3words: metals.flame.blaze.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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