Kew Bridge Steam Museum

Kew, west of London, is world famous for Kew Gardens. But that's not its only attraction. Just across Kew Bridge (on the side with Kew Bridge Station) are two remarkable museums: the Kew Bridge Steam Museum and the Musical Museum. (Or perhaps there are three, depending on how you count.)

Part of the Kew Bridge Steam Museum is devoted to the general distribution and consumption of water in London. You can see examples of different kinds of plumbing, and similar good stuff. This is my favorite, though: a wallful of washing machines and other household appliances.

And here are some views of the meat of the museum, its numerous steam pumps. They're large, intricate, and oily. All but the most technophobic have to be fascinated, at some level.

See the museum's own site for factual information (phone numbers, opening times, etc.). Hungry for more? Browse your way through the Stationary Steam Engine Websites website.

The Musical Museum is just a couple of minutes' walk along the street from Kew Bridge Steam Museum. (It richly deserves a website, but when I last looked I couldn't find one. Still, it has a single informative page here.) No photos of it by me, I'm afraid, as the museum is so chockablock with automated musical instruments that any photography would be very disruptive and would need permission in advance. Also, it would need flash, not among the strong points of my digital camera. Curiously, neither museum publicizes the existence of the other.

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Web page first created: 15 October 2000.