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The British Engineerium

Opened in 1866 as a waterworks when it was discovered that the earth beneath the Goldstone valley kept large areas of water. It was extended a decade later when another steam engine was added and formally opened in 1884 when the cooling pond and new reservoir were added. It closed in 1971 but was saved from demolition by Jonathan Minns and began building up a collection of engineering artifacts and was opened as a museum in 1976. The museum has lived a charmed life surviving financial crises in 1982 and 2000 and reliant on a quite literally last minute saviour in 2006 when businessman Mike Holland raised the £3m pound needed to keep the collection together 25 minutes before they were due to be auctioned in several lots. The museum is currently closed whilst new plans for the future are implemented but it will reopen.