A former pumping station in Worksop stands marooned in an overgrown site, at risk of collapse.
Grade II-listed, 1881, John Allsop
Bracebridge Pumping Station was designed and built by the Worksop Board of Health surveyor, John Allsop, and opened to considerable fanfare in 1881. A handsome Lombard Romanesque building of brick and ashlar on the outside, with an ornate ironwork gallery and staircase within, it was always intended as more than a facility for treating sewage. It was likely commissioned in response to the Public Health Act of 1875, which mandated that local authorities guarantee clean water and sewage disposal to all residents within their area of operation, and in this sense the high quality of the design and materials was meant to confirm Nottinghamshire’s commitment to sanitation reform – and instil confidence in the relatively novel concept of local government, which had not yet been put to the test. The building closed in the later twentieth century, and has since been left to deteriorate in an unkempt and overgrown plot. In 2018 a local auction house noted that the roof had been replaced, and planning permission had been granted for twenty-three two-bedroom apartments and a detached house on the site, but nothing has happened since. The condition of the building is rapidly deteriorating and the striking, slender chimney is steadily eroding and at risk of collapse.
Griff Rhys Jones, Victorian Society President, said: ‘Pumping stations are one of the best examples of how today’s approach to architecture tends to differ from the Victorian. Our utilitarian buildings rarely have any thought for their aesthetic design. This unusual building is situated so close to Worksop Town centre, it could be perfect for restoration as a dramatic home.’
Status Update / March 2026
The building has been the subject of several redevelopment proposals over the past few years but, as of 2026, none have come to fruition. The local council announced that work had begun to stop its decay in 2023, which included securing the site with a perimeter fence, clearing the interior of invasive plants, and installing CCTV to deter vandals.