Sandfields Pumping Station – a great historic building with immense history and social significance – not just to Lichfield, but to the Black Country. Lichfield Discovered and local historian Dave Moore have saved this valuable asset for the community.

I know lots of you are looking for interesting volunteering opportunities locally – and here’s a fun one for people with a whole range of skills – helping to save Sandfields Pumping Station in Lichfield and turn it into a valuable community resource and historical wonder for us all to enjoy.

The wonderful Kate ‘Cardigan’ Gomez from Pumping Station champions Lichfield Waterworks Trust and public historian extraordinaire Dave Moore have been in touch to appeal for volunteers.

With the restoration of the Victorian pumping station and the wonderful steam engine it contains now well underway and making astounding progress, what would really help these wonderful folk is more hands on deck.

Kate wrote:

The Lichfield Waterworks Trust is transforming Sandfields Pumping Station  into a unique community space which will celebrate the incredible heritage of the building, whilst providing the city with a new events and arts venue.

As the project is developing and growing, we now need more volunteers to join our existing team, who do such a fantastic job of restoring this Grade II* industrial heritage site and sharing the stories it has to tell.  

All kinds of skills are needed – so if you’re not handy with physical things, you will be useful elsewhere for sure. Image from Lichfield Waterworks Trust.

There are opportunities to get involved in all areas of the Lichfield Waterworks Trust’s work from helping with the practical side of things to supporting with events, marketing and fundraising activities.  

Anyone with particular skills to offer in these areas would be most welcome, but more than anything we are looking for people with enthusiasm and commitment.

Volunteering with the Lichfield Waterworks trust is a great way to use existing skills or develop new ones, gaining useful experience for your CV whilst making an important contribution to our architectural and industrial heritage and the local community.     

But if you like to get your hands dirty, there’s plenty of that, too. Image from Lichfield Waterworks Trust.

Whatever you can offer in time or expertise, the Trust’s Volunteering Co-ordinator, Robin Taylor, will be delighted to have an informal chat with you about getting involved.  A volunteer away day is being held on Friday 27^th March (09.30 to 14.30) for anyone interested in joining us, or we can arrange for you to meet up with Robin for a tour of the site at a time convenient to you.

Contact Robin on 07738939271 or at r.taylor@virgin.net.

Do pop over to Dave Moore’s blog and check out the history of Sandfields Pumping Station, an almost forgotten gem – the group also has a Facebook page.

Dave is, of course, one of the leading lights of Lichfield Discovered, along with Kate ‘Cardigan’ Gomez from Lichfield Lore.

It’s great to see people like Dave encourage a better attitude to our historic buildings -please do volunteer if you’re able, it’s sure to be great fun.