We were greeted by a trustee of the museum who gave us a short talk on the origins of the museum which was founded in Pitsea, also of their support of  ‘STEM’ (Science, Technology. Engineering Maths) and their educational work with schools. We then and had refreshments before our tour.

The Museum of Power is hidden in the countryside near Maldon. In the 1920’s a site was chosen to build a treatment works and pumping station in Langford because of it’s proximity to 3 rivers, The Colne, The Blackwater, and The Wid, which were a source of water that, after purification, could supply fresh water, pumped through 28 inch pipes to an ever-growing Southend.  Although the boilers and generators were scrapped in the sixties enthusiasts and volunteers restored the building and the Marshall triple expansion engine. We were given a talk about the full history of pumping station and treated to a demonstration of the pump in action. We then had time to explore the museum, which has exhibits covering the history of power generation and it’s uses on land, sea, air and space. We ended the visit with a very tasty lunch in the tea room. Such an interesting, educational and generally enjoyable day out.