Soberton Pumping Station (5) - 19 April 2019

On the A32 Wickham Road at Mislingford between Wickham and Droxford, stands an absolutely magnificent building, the former Soberton Pumping Station of the erstwhile Gosport Water Works Company. The building is now occupied by Pump House Auctions. Other buildings on the site are still in use by Portsmouth Water. A plaque on the main building records a formal inauguration date of 24 April 1907. Other records note that it started delivering water on 24 May 1907. Mislingford is a name on a map and the pumping station is also associated with the nearby Soberton and Swanmore. Those with a knowledge of Hampshire geography might well be puzzled by the location in relation to the Gosport of the company's name. The records show that the pumping station did indeed deliver water over a distance of some 11 miles to the coastal town which was, at the turn of the century, still developing its water supply.

The buildings to the rear of the present day Pump House Auctions premises are not accessible to visitors to the business and are operated by Portsmouth Water. The name of Portsmouth and Gosport Water Company, which I take to be a predecessor of Portsmouth Water, appears on one of these buildings.

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