Portwood Mills Water Turbine - Portwood, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 25.053 W 002° 09.041
30U E 556446 N 5919057
This water turbine used to be used to power machinery in Portwood Mills.
Waymark Code: WM10C9J
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/12/2019
Views: 2
In 2004 the mill was demolished and a Tesco supermarket built on the site. This piece of machinery was placed on display next to the entrance to the store's car park together with an information board. This board includes a diagram of the machinery in place together with explanatory information.
The Portwood Mills Water Turbine
In February 2004 Tesco Stores Ltd commissioned the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit to conduct an excavation on the site of Portwood Mills. The mill was established in the late 18th century as a cotton spinning and weaving manufacturer and is now the site of the Tesco's present store. This water turbine was discovered within the mills turbine house which had replaced an earlier 1796 waterwheel house. It was manufactured by Gilbert Gilkes & Co. of Kendal, Cumbria in 1919 and provided electricity to the mills during the infancy of electrical supply in the area.
Water turbines became widely available as an alternative to the waterwheel from the mid 19th century. Like a waterwheel they make water turn a wheel (the runner), but because they use a wheel only a tenth of the size of an equivalent waterwheel, they are very compact and rotate faster which was very useful for driving high speed machinery.
Submerged in water and hidden from view within the Penstock Pit, water passed through the Portwood Mill water turbine and was released through the suction tube into the tail race, a channel designed to convey the water away from the turbine. This process transferred the pressure energy stored in the water to the runners within the turbine conerting it info a supply of energy which was then taken via a drive shaft and transmission shafting to the mill complex.
Type of Machine: Water Turbine
Year the machine was built: 1919
Year the machine was put on display: 2004
Is there online documentation for this machine: Not listed
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