Videos

Come and join our friendly team at Crofton Beam Engines, and help to show our wonderful engines and beautiful site to our visitors. We’d love to see you here.

Crofton Beam Engines – Trials an alternative to coal.

Crofton Beam Engines did another steam test earlier this year using a bio fuel made from rape seed pressings as an alternative to coal. Could this bio fuel be a future alternative to coal?

Renovation of “The Old Smithy”

The Trust purchased a small stone and brick-built building that sits on the Crofton site in November 2023. The building was almost certainly the old Smith’s shop during most of Crofton’s life and has obviously been used as a workshop for a very long time. Our plan was to give this building a new lease of life as a visitor refreshment area.

We completed a highly successful first day of operation during our Great Easter Steam Up. We had a duo of visiting musicians sit and play for us and our visitors outside the Smithy while our guests enjoyed refreshments, cake and a wonderful spot to sit.

Burbage Primary School

St Katharine’s CofE Primary School

Great Bedwyn Church of England School

Easton Royal Academy

A Summer Holiday Visit 2023

We’re all going on a summer … visit to Crofton Beam Engines

Promotional video developed for the 2023 open summer season.

After a period of fund raising repair work to the chimney was started at the beginning of November by a specialist team of contractors.A huge big thank you to everyone for their generous contributions that has made these important repairs possible.

The Canal & River Trust’s project to update the electric pumping system at Crofton. First required the rescue of fish in the drained section of Kennet & Avon Canal at Crofton.

Our Crofton Story.

It was a c.£900,000, three year project (2017-2020), grant financed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (‘The Fund’), through National Lottery Players. Crofton Pumping Station is owned by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust (KACT), a charitable company.

Double Beat valve Refurbishment 2022/23

During our winter closed period between 2022 and 2023, a group of volunteers worked to refurbish one of the double beat valves in the pump belonging to our No. 2 engine, the Harvey and Co. We had originally planned to have live presentations about the project at it’s end, but instead made this video. The video was shown throughout the 2023 open season to show our visitors the hard work our volunteers put in at Crofton, and hopefully inspire others to join us.

Archaeologist Phil Harding, the Patron of Crofton Beam Engines, takes us on a tour around Crofton Pumping Station. Filmed in 2017.

We were lucky enough to welcome Paul and Rebecca to Crofton last summer and to feature in one of their amazing videos! Check out their YouTube channel for more videos on old abandoned railways, canals, routes and maps – https://youtube.com/@pwhitewick

Featuring a linear recording at Crofton Beam Engines.

The Crofton Beam Engine Symphony composed by Richard Selman.

Introducing the immersive experience of the “The Crofton Beam Engine Symphony”, an audio visual piece inspired by the powerful, spine chilling but somehow calming sound of a beam engine at work. Using a linear recording technique the sound of a whole engine is captured, something you would not normally be able to hear. This unique recording of our engines is set to a wonderful orchestral score with an accompanying atmospheric video of the engines at work and the surrounding environs. Huge thanks to Richard and his team for this fabulous work and for sharing it here and with our followers on social media.

© Richard Selman All rights reserved

Crofton Beam Engines in 1975 & 1976

Published by Burl Solomons

A digitised version of an original 8mm cine film of the world famous Crofton Beam Engines on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Originally shot in 1975 and 1976 by Dr Stanley Solomons, the film features the working beam engines doing the job they were originally built for in the early years of the Pumping Station’s preservation era. There is also footage of the short lived steam powered butty ‘Leviathan’ at the restored long pound at Wootton Rivers near Pewsey. The butty was run as a trip boat by the Crofton Society to raise funds for the restoration of the canal and beam engines. Also seen are the derelict and unrestored locks on the Crofton flight, and the unwatered dry canal, together with a display of model steam and traction engines.

Crofton Beam Engines in 1975 & 1976 – Digitally Enhanced.

Published by Burl Solomons

This is a digitally enhanced version of the film above which is made up from three reels of Super 8. It spans two visits to Crofton Beam Engines and the not very restored Kennet and Avon Canal at Wootton Rivers Lock in 1975 and 1976. Interesting short lived steam narrowboat trip on the lock pounds up from Wootton Rivers. Also seen are the derelict locks of the Crofton flight, and the long pound from Wootton Rivers to Devizes not in water. Apologies for the sometimes underexposed interior shots, but low light cameras were just not available to the amateur photographer in those days, and one of the films was messed up in developing by Kodak, according to the note my dad wrote on the mailer sleeve!

Why you should visit the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England.

Published by Visit Pewsey Vale

Imagine a place that is the quintessential England – rolling countryside, country lanes, thatched cottages, white horses carved into the hills … Well, you don’t have to imagine, you just need to visit the home of Crofton Beam Engines – the fabulous Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire in South-West England!