Hidden glory

Looking down into the valley at the southern end of Dancersend Nature Reserve this morning the old Rothschild pumping station could be picked out more easily than normal after the good coating of snow over night. Many people walk the Ridgeway National Trail along the top of these woods completely unaware of the reserve or the wonderful old buildings and industrial heritage situated deep in the valley below. The Rothschilds built this lovely ornate pumping station in 1867 to access pure water from the enormous aquifer beneath the Chiltern Hills. They piped water from here to all the surrounding villages, ridding them of the scourge of periodic outbreaks of typhoid from contaminated wells. The boreholes still provide water for a large area, but are no longer pumped by the ornate double beam steam engine, which can now be found at Kew Bridge Steam Museum.