Beam Engine House Museum
 | Not all Portsmouth's history is about the military - the Beam Engine House museum at Eastney, for instance, is a beautifully preserved slice of our past that is totally different. | |
Up until mid-Victorian times, Portsmouth's sewage disposal was a bad-smelling joke, even after the first sewers were constructed, the main problem being that the island is so flat that the effluent wouldn't run away anywhere. | ||
A deeper sewage system provided part of the answer, but the real difference was provided by the huge steam-powered engines that pumped millions of tons of mucky stuff out to sea over many years. | ||
One of these engines would have to be the ultimate "Boys' Toy", I reckon, though where on earth you'd keep something the size of these magnificent beasties I have no idea! | ||
| You've got to see this in real life. | ||
