The
Somerset Moors and Levels, formed from a submerged and reclaimed landscape, consist of a coastal clay belt only slightly above mean sea level, with an inland peat belt at a lower level behind it. Early attempts to control the water levels were possibly made by the Romans (although records only date from the 13th century), but were not widespread. The
Domesday Book of 1086 recorded that drainage of the higher grounds was under way. In the Middle Ages, the monasteries of
Glastonbury,
Athelney and
Muchelney were responsible for much of the drainage. Efforts to control flooding on the
Parrett were recorded around 1129. In 1234, were reclaimed near
Westonzoyland and, from the accounts in Glastonbury Abbey's rent books, this had increased to by 1240. Flooding of adjacent moor land was partially addressed during the 13th century by the construction of a number of embankment walls to contain the Parrett. They included Southlake Wall, Burrow Wall and Lake Wall. The
River Tone was diverted by the Abbot of Athelney and other land owners into a new embanked channel, joining the Parrett upstream from its original confluence. In 1500, there was of floodable land of which only had been reclaimed. In 1597, of land were recovered near the Parrett estuary; a few years later, near
Pawlett were recovered by means of embankments; and three further reclamations, totalling , had been undertaken downstream of
Bridgwater by 1660. In the early 17th century, during the time of
King James I, abortive plans were made to drain and enclose much of
Sedgemoor, which the local Lords supported but opposed by the Commoners who would have lost grazing rights. In 1632,
Charles I sold the Crown's interest in the scheme, and it was taken over by a consortium that included Sir
Cornelius Vermuyden, a
Dutch drainage engineer. However, the work was delayed by the
English Civil War and later defeated in Parliament after local opposition. In 1638, it was reported that nearly of
Tealham and Tadham Moors were not reclaimed, with a total of being undrained. Between 1785 and 1791, much of the lowest part of the peat moors was enclosed. In 1795,
John Billingsley advocated
enclosure and the digging of
rhynes (a local name for drainage channels, pronounced "reens" in the east and rhyne to the west) between plots, and wrote in his
Agriculture of the County of Somerset that had been enclosed in the last 20 years in
Wedmore and
Meare, at Nyland, at Blackford, at
Mark, in
Shapwick and at
Westhay. Little attempt was made during the 17th and 18th centuries to pump water, possibly because the coal-driven
Newcomen steam engines would have been uneconomical. It is unclear why
windmills were not employed, as they were on
the Fens of
East Anglia, but only two examples have been recorded on the Levels: one at
Bleadon at the mouth of the
River Axe, where a sea wall had been built, and the other at Common Moor north of
Glastonbury, which was being drained following a
private act of Parliament, the
Glastonbury Inclosure Act 1721 (
8 Geo. 1. c.
16 ). The first
mechanical pumping station on the Somerset Levels was built in 1830 to drain the area around
Westonzoyland,
Middlezoy and
Othery. The success of the
drainage system led to the formation of other
drainage boards and the construction of other
pumping stations. The pump at Westonzoyland originally comprised a
beam engine and
scoop wheel (like a water wheel running backwards) but, after 25 years, there were problems pumping the water away because the land had dropped as it dried out despite the wheel being raised in 1843. A better method was sought, and in 1861 the present Easton and Amos pump was installed. The Westonzoyland pump lifts water from the
rhyne (pronounced 'reen') into the
River Parrett. The pump operated until 1951, by which time the local drainage system had been linked into
King's Sedgemoor Drain, which discharged further down the River Parrett; the water levels dropped and the pump was unable to draw the water from the rhyne. Additionally, the Parrett riverbank has now been raised by some in the vicinity of the pumping station and the opening to the river, from the base of the pump-well, is now bricked up. In 1951 a diesel pump, with a capacity of 50 tons per minute, was installed by the
Environment Agency in an adjacent building meaning that the steam pump was no longer needed. since it is now the only surviving station that still houses a functioning engine. Beside the cottage is a long single-storey building that houses a 1914
Lancashire boiler; this was used to provide steam. Next to it is a
forge, where the keeper would have made a number of his own tools. The boiler required constant running and thus consumed a good deal of coal.
Restoration In 1976, members of the
Somerset Industrial Archaeology Society began
restoration of the site. The Westonzoyland Engine Trust achieved charitable status in 1980 and in 1990 bought the site from the owners,
Wessex Water. The structure of the engine house has been stabilised and the pump house and chimney rebuilt. A new exhibition hall has also been built. Up until early 2010, the keeper's cottage had been off-limits to visitors. Two of the ground-floor rooms have now been opened: the living-room is furnished in a 1930s/40s style, while the old kitchen area currently holds a couple of display cases, with a view to showing hitherto unseen artefacts from the museum's collection of smaller items. The upper floors remain closed to visitors. ==Museum==