A REVOLUTIONARY piece of North-East history has been secured for future generations to enjoy after passionate volunteers dedicated countless hours to its restoration.

The Victorian Tees Cottage Pumping Station, in Darlington, began supplying cleaner drinking water to the town in 1849 after residents previously relied on wells, rainwater tubs and hand pumps.

Over the years, the Scheduled Ancient Monument has suffered structural problems, asbestos contamination and break-ins, but a team of enthusiasts and North-East companies have restored the site to its former glory.

The Coniscliffe Road station is one of the few locations left that houses its original electric and gas water pumps, along with Victorian steam-powered beam pumps of European significance.

Throughout 2016, Groundwork North East and Cumbria, River Tees Rediscovered, Friends of Tees Cottage Pumping Station, Northumbrian Water and Cummins Engines have worked tirelessly to restore the pumps and boilers back to working order.

Tom Watson, partnership manager for the River Tees Rediscovered Partnership, said: “The aim of the project is to secure this little-known piece of Darlington history and open it up for the public to enjoy.

“The Tees Cottage Pump House is a fantastic resource for the area and the fact that most people I’ve spoken with didn’t even know it was here is very sad.

“We hope to make it a self-sustainable museum over the next couple of years.

“We’re extremely grateful to Cummins Engines and all the volunteers who lent us their time and expertise. This project would have taken a lot longer and would have been significantly more difficult without them.

“The site is now open for the people of the region to come and learn about this piece of local heritage.”

Preservation of the site has been an ongoing battle for the teams after the entire site was closed for safety reasons following a routine inspection of the station in 2014.

However, extensive repairs and seasonal open days have secured the building on the banks of the River Tees for years to come.

Tim Hamilton, technical specialist product engineering at Cummins Engines, said: “This is the only site in the UK with a beam, gas and electric engine altogether in one place.

“It is fantastic that this site been preserved by local volunteers and is already attracting lots of attention from the public.

“This project has huge potential and we are happy to have been involved in such an interesting project at such an early stage.

“We will continue to support the development of this site into a fully functional museum and a key tourist attraction for Darlington over the coming years.”