Dorothea Restorations Presents Conservation Award To Bull Engine Volunteers

Nov. 11, 2008 - PRLog -- The Dorothea Award for Conservation has gone to a team of volunteers who have together spent more than 7,000 hours restoring the ‘Bull’ steam engine at Kew Bridge Pumping Station in West London.

The giant steam-powered water pump was designed by Edward Bull and made in 1856, but had been out action and rusting away for 60 years. Its single cylinder is nearly two metres in diameter, and passes through three floors of the building.

Now, thanks to seven years of voluntary work and at a cost of about £45,000, the engine has been fully restored. It is the largest engine of its type in existence and the only one in the world that still works.

Peter Meehan, director of Dorothea Restorations, said: “This massive effort by dedicated and high-skilled volunteers is a superb example of the work that the Dorothea Award for Conservation was set up to recognise.

“Without this kind of heroic undertaking, our industrial heritage could quite literally rust away.”

Dorothea Restorations has sponsored the annual Dorothea Conservation Award since 1984. It is adjudicated independently by the Association for Industrial Archaeology.

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Notes to Editors

1.   Dorothea Restorations is the UK’s leading specialist in industrial and architectural metalwork. The company provides a range of services, both conservation / restoration and new-build / replication, to a diverse client base which includes architects, heritage bodies, local authorities, museums, building contractors and private individuals. For more information, visit www.dorothearestorations.com

2.    The Association for Industrial Archaeology promotes the study, preservation and presentation of Britain's industrial heritage. It is the national organisation for people who share an interest in Britain's industrial past. It brings together people who are researching, recording, preserving and presenting the great variety of this country's industrial heritage. Visit www. industrial-archaeology.org.uk for more information.

Further Information

1.   Please contact in the first instance:  Marc Sanderson at Leader Communications, The Stone House, 123 High Street, Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, B95 5AU.  
T: 01564 796200  F: 01564 795490  Mob