Old Engine House

The Old Engine House is an engine house built in 1831, constructed from gault brick in Flemish bond with slate roofs. It consists of three parts: the engine house, which lies between the boiler house and the scoop wheel house, is two storeys high with a loft. The north gable features a fixed metal frame casement, a stone panel engraved with the date and the names of the drainage commissioners, and a tall fixed light window set in a round-headed arch. The boiler house has a lean-to roof and is a single storey with a tall, tapering square stack on the south side. At the north end, there are two cartway openings in round-headed arches, one of which is now blocked. The scoop wheel house is also a single storey.

Inside, the structure remains largely intact and is in near working order. The low-pressure beam engine, made by Butterley and Co, was installed in 1831 and modified in 1909. The boiler house contains three Lancashire boilers that replaced the original wagon boilers, and the scoop wheel is still in place. A band of original pattern anthemion is stencilled on the wall at dado height, with this paintwork being original in the loft but repainted in other areas. Additionally, there is a small brick-built structure behind the stokers' cottage, which is semi-detached from the scoop wheel house, housing a 200 horsepower Mirlees diesel engine installed in 1925, along with a Gwynnes pump.

Historically, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1741 for the drainage of Waterbeach level, allowing water to be pumped from the fen to the Old West River. The Old Engine House is also scheduled as an Ancient Monument.