#86
Opening Hours
Sunday: 10:00 – 16:00
Thursday: 10:00 – 16:00
Friday: 10:00 – 16:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 16:00
What's not to miss inside?
The 90-inch Cornish Beam Engine
Largest working beam engine in the worldA single cylinder the size of a room moves with slow, tidal authority—power you can hear and feel.
📍 Engine House
Water Works 101
From river to tapFiltration beds, pumping lifts and pipes—an invisible city beneath London made visible.
📍 Intro galleries
Steam Up Days
Machines aliveOil, heat and motion change the museum from static to cinematic; interpreters read the engines like conductors.
📍 Selected weekends/holidays
Splash Zone & Mini Railway
Hands-on for younger visitorsValves and screws explain hydraulics by play; a narrow-gauge ride links the site’s moving parts.
📍 Courtyard & grounds
🤓 Fun Facts
The museum’s 90-inch engine has a piston nearly 7.5 feet across—built to lift millions of gallons a day with elegant economy.
Before sand filtration and steam-powered pumping scaled up, London’s water system helped cholera spread rather than stop it.
On ‘Steam Up’ days, engines are started by hand signals and routine older than radio—an operating ballet preserved by volunteers.
