Chilcote Pumping Station

This is a pumping station built between 1935 and 1936, designed by Frederic John Dixon, the chief engineer of the South Staffordshire Waterworks. It is constructed from red brick in a Flemish bond pattern, with limestone dressings. The building is roughly square, with its main facade facing east.

The building is a single-storey structure with a double-height appearance, arranged in three bays and displaying a neo-classical style. It has a rusticated stone plinth with basement openings, balanced by a deep stone parapet. The principal facade is symmetrical, featuring a projecting central porch above the plinth, flanked by large windows. A short flight of steps leads to the porch, which contains double doors framed by a moulded architrave. Above the doors, a panel is inscribed with "CHILCOTE PUMPING STATION," accompanied by relief mouldings. The porch has a shaped stone parapet with a central label and banded brickwork extending across the main elevation. Further up, polychromatic brickwork and a panel are inscribed with "SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE / WATERWORKS COMPANY /1935". The large windows are framed with brick and have ogee arches, incorporating brick and tile detailing, and a stone scroll keystone. The windows are metal-framed with glazing bars creating multiple lights. Above each of these are smaller windows with marginal, oval, and radial glazing bars. A stone string course defines the parapet, which is a band of brick patterned with diamonds, topped with stepped moulded stone. The hipped roof is concealed by the parapet, but features a central glazed section. The corners of the building have stepped angles, and the side elevations mirror the main facade with windows of a similar design. The building steps down to a single storey at the rear, where the detailing is simpler; windows have flat arches with chamfered stone lintels.

The interior features a double-height engine hall lit by the large windows on three sides and a glazed lantern in the hipped roof. Two wells are surrounded by tubular railings, and a gantry crane, manufactured by Herbert Morris Ltd of Loughborough, serves them from above. The walls are finished with a scheme of red tiling at the base, a soldier course of green tiles, and cream tiles above. Moulded stone is used for architraves and a wide bresummer, and features stepped angles and nailhead motifs. Some original panelled and glazed timber doors remain. Steel trusses with braces and rods support the roof. A foundation plaque records the construction dates, the names of the directors, secretary, and engineer. The single-storey section at the rear houses the manager’s offices and toilets.