Amber Hill, Wind Drainage Engine
For many years the principal form of pump used to drain the Fens was a scoop wheel comprising an array of flat wooden paddles rotating in a narrow slot and capable of lifting a surprisingly large mass of water through a height of a few feet (eg, the pump at Dogdyke could raise 25 tons per minute).
Initially these scoop wheels were wind-powered then steam was introduced.
By the time that diesel engine power came into use the more efficient centrifugal pump had been developed and scoop wheels largely disappeared.
This example of a scoop wheel was photographed in 1972 at Amber Hill.
It is standing adjacent to the brick tower of the wind engine which powered it.
Chris Lester, 1972
Amber Hill, drainage, scoopwheel, windmill,