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My Collection

Like any collector, it is not so much the possession of the items themselves, but the sharing of their knowledge so that other like-minded people can appreciate them also, that gives the greater satisfaction. So here, then, is my modest (but ever so slowly growing) collection of Victorian and vintage early 20th century beer engines and beer-pump handles.

The photo that can be seen on the first page of this site ("Pulling Pints - Victorian Style") shows a number of beer-pump handles, together with a rare Victorian "cash-register" design 2-motion beer engine by J Warner & Sons in mahogany, with ebony and ivory handles. Next to it is a Gaskell & Chambers chrome plated brass counter pump dating from the turn of the 19th century, together with two brass pillar counter pumps - the middle one being of similar vintage (manufacturer unknown), the other somewhat earlier, again by J Warner & Sons. Further pictures are shown below.

You can view the complete photographic catalogue of my collection of Victorian and vintage beer-pump handles by clicking the button on the left-hand menu. That page also gives an individual description of each handle, and the general characteristics that define both the vintage and the modern beer-pump handle.
Victorian beer-pump handles 1
Victorian beer-pump handles 2
Victorian beer-pump handles 3
Victorian beer-pump handles 4
Victorian beer-pump handles 5
Worcester City Museum has a miniature model 4-motion beer engine made by William Stokoe c1900 as an apprentice piece, and is believed to be unique. The image, shown below, is reproduced from their website.
Worcester City Museum's model beer engine
©Worcester City Museums
It is very similar in design to the Victorian beer engine I have:
Victorian beer engine
Victorian beer engine plaque
Close-up of the brass plaque on my Victorian beer engine
The Crescent, off Jewin Street, no longer exists. The area suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz, and in the post-war redevelopment that followed the Barbican Centre was built on the site where it once stood.

I am not sure of the beer engine's exact age, but suspect it dates from the mid to late 19th century. The only similar example I've ever seen is a 4-motion version in the George Inn, Borough High St, London SE1, which I remember being used to serve me several pints of Bass back in the mid-1970s. It has a mahogany casing with a mirrored backplate bearing the name "SOUTH, Blackfriars Rd", ebony and ivory-topped handles, and pewter spouts. Although no longer in use, the engine is still visible at the back of the small servery. This "cash register" design seems to have altered little during the course of the 19th century from that of the earliest beer engines - see below.
1808 beer engine
This is the earliest illustrated example of a beer engine I have seen. It is an engraving taken from "Pantologia - A New Cyclopedia" by John Mason Good & Olinthus Gilbert Gregory, published in London, 1813 (although this plate is dated August 1st 1808).

It is probably very similar to - or may even be - the original design that Joseph Bramah patented in 1797.

One thing about this diagram intrigues me - there are four pump-handles, but only three taps above the sink on the left-hand side to which all of the pipes appear to lead. I am puzzled as to the whereabouts of the fourth!
Diagram of an 1808 beer engine


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