The pump has a flywheel and crank to operate the piston. You can see that it's a single throw crank and you can also see the counterweight on the flywheel opposite the handle.
Long Preston is unique in the fact that it has its own private water supply which is looked after by the ‘Long Preston Water Trust’, although there are some boreholes and Yorkshire Water have lately put in a supply.
Knowles Cottages history
The cottages were "founded by James Knowles, a native of Long Preston, who, after acquiring a fortune in London, established an almshouse for the support of ten persons in 1613 with a chapel." from Visit Link
There are two stone plaques on the end wall.
"Long Preston Hospital founded by James Knowles AD 1613,
Rebuilt AD 1859 by bequest from the Rev'd Henry Kempson,
donations from other parishioners, and the reserve fund of the Hospital."
and
"1983 - These cottages were restored and altered and the former chapel rebuilt as a house."
The Knowles Trust
James Knowles of Fulham, Middlesex, was born in Long Preston and later apprenticed to a wool merchant in Wakefield. He must have become a successful merchant himself because his will, proved in 1615, shows that he had amassed a considerable estate by the time of his death.
In his will, James Knowles bequeathed six hundred pounds to buy land in Long Preston ‘whereupon my foresaid Executor, or Executors shall erect, and build an Hospital, or ten several houses for ten poor persons to dwell in’. The beneficiaries of this bequest were to be people born in, or long term residents of, Long Preston, Hellifield and Halton West. He named six local executors to administer his project – the original trustees – and stated that ‘the Vicar of the said Church for the time being shall be always One of the Six Nominators’. He also left specific instructions on how the almshouses should be built, including the erection of a chapel ‘adjoyning to the said Hospital’. This is how the almshouses, known locally as Knowles Cottages, came to be built.
The Hospital of James Knowles was granted official charity status in a Scheme made by the High Court of Chancery on the 6th July 1850, but the almshouses had fallen into disrepair by the early 1980s and the local council condemned the building.
In 1982 a new body of trustees was convened and the Charity Commission issued a new Scheme. With the aid of grant funding and a mortgage, the building was restored to provide modern, comfortable homes.
This restoration included converting the ten houses into six, and having the chapel de-consecrated and turned into another dwelling.
A development project initiated in 2003, funded by investment income and a grant from the Housing Corporation, has further improved and modernised the almshouses.
Today the charity is run very much in accordance with James Knowles’ wishes, adapted, of course, for modern times. The governing body is comprised of seven trustees: the principal officer of St Mary’s Church, two appointed by Long Preston Parish Council, one appointed by Craven District Council, and three co-opted. When an almshouse becomes vacant, priority is given to applicants of retirement age from, or having connections with, the above three parishes, but the trustees also ask Craven District Council to nominate people from the
wider area who have need of housing of this kind.
Over the years, many local people have given freely of their time to ensure that the charity’s vision is fulfilled: to make best use of this valuable local asset by ensuring that the almshouses remain viable, providing affordable rented housing for older people in the villages of Long Preston, Hellifield and Halton West." from the Long Preston Parish Plan December 2004. PDF download
Streetmap - Visit Link