Over the Easter weekend, some 230 visitors attended the Waterworks Museum in Hereford during a celebration focusing on the historic water supply to Ross-on-Wye.

As part of this celebration, local historian Mary Sinclair Powell opened a new display, the ’Old Workshop’ - a heritage-engineering workshop of the late Victorian and Edwardian era. The centrepiece of the new display is the treadle lathe on which Henry Blake had turned taps and fittings for his water engineering business in Ross.

Henry Blake was the nephew of Alderman Thomas Blake, benefactor of Ross, who pioneered the water scheme at Alton Court.

Mary said: “I feel it a great privilege to be involved with this event and know that the whole Blake family would be proud to see their engineering prowess on display. I hope that future visitors to this fantastic Waterworks Museum have the chance to see these historic items for many years to come. I say ‘well done’ to all the Museum volunteers for their hard work in acquiring and preserving them as part of our local heritage.”

Accompanying display boards provide information about historic water supplies, about Alton Court Waterworks and, interestingly, about the novel fire extinguishers invented and patented in 1907 by Henry Blake, Ross’ Water Engineer who for many years was also the Chief of the Ross Fire Brigade.  The ‘Alpha’ extinguisher was sold around the world. See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now