Main Dock Pumphouse (S 87 And 89)

The Main Dock Pumphouse, located in South Yard at Devonport Dockyard, is a hydraulic pumping station dated 1851, possibly designed by William Scamp, R.E. The building is constructed from limestone ashlar in alternating thick and thin courses, with granite dressings and a leaded roof. It features a single-storey windowless engine house and a two-storey, two-bay tower, with the engine house having a cornice, blocking course, and a pedimented north gable that includes a louvred oculus and ball finials at the center.

The east side of the engine house has a right-hand doorway with a raised surround and a 20th-century door. The gable features a right-hand recessed bay with a corbel table and small-paned cross windows, while the rest of the gable has an inserted mid-20th-century steel lintel with four casements on both the ground and first floors. The tower is adorned with a corbelled cornice and an attic storey that has moulded eaves coping and sunken panels with four oculi on each side, topped with a ball finial. It also includes tall recessed bays similar to those in the gable, with cross windows and ashlar panels between the storeys, displaying "VR" on the south side and "1851" on the north side. A truncated square chimney is located in the northwest corner.

Inside, all machinery has been removed, but the building retains a metal-framed roof. Historically, this pumphouse was built in a style similar to many other North Yard buildings, including the Quadrangle, and it powered hydraulic cranes, capstans, and dock lock gates. The introduction of hydraulic power into docks began in the 1850s, making this one of the earliest surviving examples of a pumping station of its kind in any dockyard.