No. 7 Pumping Station At King George V Dry Dock

No. 7 Pumping Station at King George V Dry Dock

No. 7 Pumping Station was built in 1933–34 to house the pumps and machinery used in flooding and draining King George V Graving Dock. It stands on the west side of the entrance to the Dock, probably designed by FE Wentworth-Shields as part of the overall dock scheme, though the architect is not definitively documented.

The building is constructed in red brick with stone dressing in inter-war classical revival style, with a temple-like appearance. It has a half-hipped pitched felt roof, a stone cornice and brick band with an additional stone cornice above. Brick pilasters divide the window bays, with the cornice forming the capital of each pilaster. Each bay contains a tall metal-framed multi-pane window, with the top section featuring a central pivoted hopper. A shallow stone apron lies beneath each window.

The exterior has undergone alterations. The west bay, which originally comprised a diesel house and office, has been demolished. A single storey extension was added to the river frontage, and a washroom area has been partially demolished.

Internally, the pumping room is now subdivided by a temporary partition. The southern part retains the original machinery and motor-room, whilst the northern part now functions as an electrical substation. The walls are lined with cream and green tiles on the lower sections, with brick above. The northern end has a tiled floor. The main pumping room in the southern end contains four pumps that regulated the water level in the dock, though one is inoperable and one may not be original. A wooden staircase leads to a mezzanine balcony with wooden balustrade, on which the motor control room and pipe layout diagram remain, showing which pumps were in operation. The pumping station structure extends below ground to access the pipes, culverts and penstocks that drained and filled the dry dock. The southern portion of the building largely retains its appearance from the 1930s.