Waterworks Museum

Trace the history of drinking water, from the time of cave dwellers to present day, through a number of great displays and wonderful working engines. A number of Open Days in Steam throughout the year.

Based in a Victorian pumping station that served Hereford for 120 years, the museum tells the story of drinking water throughout the ages through a number of high quality displays.

Discover the progress of water supplies from the first cave dwellers at Symonds Yat, to the latest filtration and water pumping systems used in Hereford today.

The museum has a brilliant collection of engines, including the old working triple expansion steam pumping engine in the UK, which used to pump up to 1 million gallons of water per day! Kids will be able to see every method of motive power for water, except for animal power.

The exhibits that are powered by electric motors can usually be seen working, but the internal combustion and steam engines can only be seen in action during the Open Days in Steam.

Schools Activities

Primary school activities (Key Stages 1 and 2) are organised in co-operation with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water with all sessions taught by a qualified primary science teacher. The Museum offers the newly-developed Water at the Waterworks programme. This is aimed at pupils from 7-11 years old and covers many aspects of Science, Geography, History and Education for Sustainable Development.  Pupils spend a full day at the Museum and learn about water and the vital role it plays in our lives. There is plenty of hands-on work including simple water-filtering experiments and pond-dipping. By prior discussion, sessions suitable for Key Stage 1 can also be provided.

For secondary schools, major cross-curricular projects have been developed for Key Stage 3 covering and combining aspects of engineering, science, mathematics, geography and history. All sessions involve a mixture of class-room studies, practical activities (all safe) on real engines and machinery in the Museum, and a satisfying amount of team work. 

For Key Stage 4, more advanced sessions can be offered. All secondary school provision is organised and delivered in close co-operation with the teachers involved. An example would be sessions tailored for one school which concentrated on flooding. It involved map work on the devastation to Hereford City which would be caused by a flood of given depth, together with pupils calculating the flow of the River Wye from very simple measurements.

Schools and centres catering for special educational needs are warmly welcomed. Sessions, which may simply involve areas and exhibits in the working Museum, can be arranged by prior discussion. The whole Museum is accessible for wheelchair users either directly or by closed-circuit television.

To support the outreach work of the Museum, volunteers will gladly give talks in schools or to adult groups, clubs and societies in the wider community. Full audio-visual support is available.