The Bygones Museum

Holkham Hall

View of the engine room.The reconstructed lighting plant is on the left. Originally there were two oil engines driving generators in the purpose built house.

 

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The Bygones Museum at Holkham Hall in Norfolk is based on the lifetime collections of Dick Joice of Anglian Television's Bygones programme. The museum is located in the stable block of the hall and can be visited separately from the hall itself for those so inclined. There are a number of road steamers in the museum yard and several traction engine models in the associated History of Farming display but the bulk of the steam exhibits are housed in the old Engine House along with a number of internal combustion engines and some models. 

There are two single cylinder horizontal engines, one anonymous and the other a typical solidly built Waller of Stroud gasworks engine

An anonymous horizontal engine, plain and simple.    Flywheel end view of the horizontal. Disc crank.

    The Waller engine No. . A typical strongly built gasworks engine designed to run long periods without failure.All bearings have large capacity lubricators and the cylinder is fitted with a mechanical lubricator. This engine would run and run.     A close up of the crankshaft bearings showing the connection rod bearing lubricator.

The three vertical engines present a contrast in styles, the no nonsense industrial engine from Tangyes of Birmingham, the dainty little fairground organ engine from Savages of Kings Lynn and the very old true vertical pumping engine attributed to Morley.

A classic inverted vertical engine bu Tangyes of Birmingham. The sort of solid , well made engines that powered industry all over the world. These little engines were used extensively by showmen for powering organs, shooters, etc. This one was made by Savage Bros of Kings Lynn but similar engines were made by Tidmans of Norwich. There is a Tidman engine in the Bridewell Museum in Norwich.  This is a very old style engine and probably dates from the middle of the nineteenth century. The eccentric driven force pump probably fed the boiler and the engine and boiler will have provided a similar function to the small IC farm engines so common at rallies today. It may have powered a well pump for a big house. The horizontal governor is unusual.  

There is one feed pump on display, a vertical Banjo pump badged Lister and Bianch of Cambridge

This little "Banjo" feed pump is badged "Lister & Bianch Cambridge" but these were probably the sellers rather than the manufacturers.

Some of the models on display are quite substantial and may well have been originally employed as small power sources rather than playthings. The oscillating cylinder engine was sold by Stevens Model Dockyard but seems far too plain to be anything but a working engine. Similarly the beam engine has a rugged "small workshop" look about it. The two largish inverted vertical engines could well have been supplied to power small boats.

 

Stevens Model Dockyard provided engines and castings to the hobby trade in the late nineteenth-early twentieth century. In the era before electric motors were generally available such small steam engines were often used to power lathes and other small machines. I suspect this simple but rugged oscillating cylinder engine was one such.   Again this sturdy beam engine looks as though it was built for work rather than pleasure. Such engines often powered clockmakers workshops.  Both these engines are fitted with reversing gear and would be suitable for powering small leisure or working craft.

The steam road vehicles share the yard with a variety of other vehicles. The most interesting must be the unique Soames Steam Cart.

Wallis & Steevens "Advance" Road Roller.  Farmers Foundry Portable Engine  Savages Centre Engine as used in Gallopers and fairground rides.

The unique Soames Steam Cart.

 

 

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