A restored 18th-century beam pump by the River Rother near Petworth, driven by the water to push a supply uphill to the town
Beside the River Rother just south of Petworth, this is a water-powered beam pump — a pump worked by a big rocking beam, here driven by a waterwheel turning in the river. It was built in 1782 to send water uphill to the town and the estate, and it stayed in use for well over a century before falling quiet. Volunteers have since restored the machinery, and it runs again on open days. The pump sits on the Serpent Trail within the South Downs, with Petworth House and its park a mile or so to the north.
