Cambridge Museum of Technology

Based in the original sewage pumping station for Cambridge, the Museum of Technology exists to preserve and exhibit material that is relevant to the Cambridge area, either by its use or its invention. Our collections include:

• The pumping station's original equipment and other engines.
• A number of products manufactured by W.G. Pye of Cambridge.
• Letterpress-printing equipment ranging from early hand operated presses to power machinery.
• Instruments from Cambridge Instrument Company.
• Information and artefacts from local industries.

The Museum is based in Cambridge's old sewage pumping station, which was closed down in 1968. Up until 1894, untreated sewage was flowing into the River Cam through a network of collapsing and overused sewers. Several methods of resolving the problem were investigated, varying from repair to complete replacement. The method finally chosen was to deepen and widen the existing sewers and add a steam pumping station to pump the sewage to a new sewage farm at Milton. The original building was built in 1894 and shows a progression of the development of power, from steam, through internal combustion, to electricity. The steam engines performed this task for 74 years, from 1895 to 1968. The site is one of the earliest examples of recycling because the city's rubbish was burned here to produce steam to power the steam engines to pump the sewage.

The museum is open, but not in steam
Easter to October - Every Sunday, 2.00-5.00pm
November to Easter - First Sunday in the month, 2.00-5.00pm
On these open days the whole of the museum is open and some of the non-steam exhibits can be running.

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