In the 1800s, steam powered pumps took over from the wind powered pumps.
The steam pumps were made from metal components and were housed in purpose built engine buildings with great big chimneys made from bricks.
These steam beam engines were able to pump much more efficiently than the wind pumps as they could be used as long as both the operators and a fuel supply were available. Coal was the fuel and it was supplied to the pumping stations by barges. It took many people to move the coal manually from the river to the pumping station.
One barge of coal could power a wind pump for a week and it would take about ten people to offload it by wheelbarrow.
About one hundred steam pumps were used to keep the fens relatively dry for about one hundred years.
One steam engine could do the pumping equivalent to the work of eight wind pumps so they were much more efficient. They could also work regardless of the level of wind available so they were also much more reliable.
The Fens App 