Children from four local schools were celebrated at Crofton Beam Engines on 29th June and Sunday 30th June.

Building a model beam engine

The children, from St Katharine’s C of E Primary School, Great Bedwyn C of E School, Burbage Primary School and Easton Royal Academy, partnered with Crofton in their “Crofton for Kids” grant project to create four unique videos about Crofton for kids.  Each video focuses on a different topic, looking at How the Station Works, Important People throughout the life of the Station, the History of the Station, and the Restoration and Future of the Station.

The videos were premiered at the June Steaming, with over forty children and their families in attendance. The videos will be available in the future on the Crofton website, as well as through the use of QR codes, accessed via a newly commissioned cross-section of the station, to be revealed soon.

In addition, the grant has funded the production of forty sets of buildable working models of the beam engine. The children involved in the project have all taken part in a learning session, where science teacher Nic Allott demonstrated scientific principles related to steam, vacuum and pumping followed by a chance to build the model. These learning sessions will be available
for schools and community groups to book from September 2024.

Whitney Cawley, Learning and Community Engagement Officer, said: “We are so thankful for the wonderful contributions from these four schools and their partnership with us in the project. The children’s videos are engaging and informative, a wonderful asset to have for children to better understand what Crofton does. The children have also loved building the working models, which actually pump water.  They are fun to build and amazing to see in action.”

The ‘New Stories, New Audiences’ Grant is awarded by the Association of Independent Museums and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Crofton Beam Engines near Marlborough has pumped water from Wilton Water into the Kennet and Avon Canal for over 200 years and will next be in steam on Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Help Us Keep Crofton Beam Engines Steaming

Here is how we fire the boiler.

The ‘New Stories, New Audiences’ Grant is sponsored by the Association of Independent Museums and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. For details of the New Stories New Audiences programme see https://aim-museums.co.uk/final-new-stories-new-audiences-grants-awarded/

As well as our Late May Bank holiday Sunday and Monday steaming weekend at Crofton beam Engines, for the first time there will also be an exhibition of models and craftwork by Crofton volunteers.

Many of our volunteers have home workshops producing beautifully hand crafted models in metal and wood, of static and railway engines, trucks and even a barrel organ.

We recently had our annual boiler safety test inspection. It is carried out by an independent boiler safety inspector. The test is to make sure our boiler meets all the safety requirements.

Boiler Steam Test

Part of the test is to check that the steam safety valve on the boiler is lifting at the prescribe pressure. After successfully testing. It’s now full steam ahead for this year’s steaming days at Crofton Beam Engines.

The Grade 2 listed chimney at Crofton has not required any repairs since 1996, until now.

In January 2023, we experienced torrential rain followed by a period of sub-zero temperatures. As a result, expansion of ice crystals within the mortar and brick had caused damage to the chimney, pointing and brickwork. The west  side of the chimney particularly suffered from this damaging weather.

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.

Join a guided tour on Sunday 17th September to discover more about the industrial past of Crofton’s corner of Wiltshire for FREE!

Tour Times

11am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm

Booking is recommended to secure your place

Remaining spaces will be available on the day on a first come first served basis.

We encourage visitors to make use of our picnic benches on the grounds (no alcohol is allowed on site). There will be no refreshments available to buy on site.

Opening Times

Car ParkSiteTour Times10:30 to 16:3010:30 to 16:0011am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm

Cylinder HeadBeam GalleryBoiler HouseLower Picnic LawnVolunteer giving a tour to family visitors