What is this building?

About 1km from my home is this building in some woodland with an old T LOGO on the door, and lots of fans wiring inside. It's about 300m up the road from cabinet 3, and about 2/3k from the Darley Dale Exchange.

It also looks like the new ducting BT have laid for the new cabinet 12 ends up in some man holes about 50m away from it.

Any ideas?

PIC: https://ibb.co/4gP588P (updated)

Edited by Whitehall11 (Tue 30-Jun-20 21:22:44)

Duff link.

what's this?

The link you have posted is https://imgur.com/undefined, not a valid link.

Can you give a Google Maps/Earth link to the location?

Sorry Team - Here is the photo: https://ibb.co/4gP588P

Location: 53°09'02.3"N 1°36'00.3"W

Hobbit's house.

More interestingly, what is underneath it ...

Looks like electric sub station type of thing, but you would normally see warning signs on it.

In reply to a post by Rolandrat:

Looks like electric sub station type of thing, but you would normally see warning signs on it.

Quite. I wonder if its a subtended exchange, e.g. an extension. Some towns used to have small exchanges, that eventually became prefixes on a longer number, e.g. 88 on the start of 4 digit numbers meant the extension exchange.

Random guess!

Whatever it is it isn't registered on land registry. In which case, makes it quite old so I wonder if it's something to do with Water company, maybe a small pumping station or Telephone. I can see a reference to Wensley W.B.S. on BT checker for the post code checker but no mention of this anywhere else.

Edited by gary333 (Tue 30-Jun-20 22:26:47)

Anyones guess really.
One things for sure, it'll be on Grand Designs soon converted to a 8 bedroom mansion.

Are you sure those 'Fans Running' are not water pumps !.

I think this is the best guess - It's got a little T Logo (legacy telecom). The noises from the shed definitely sound like computer fans, and not water pumps.

It could also potentially be a booster for the rural Winster exchange 3/4km North?

In reply to a post by Rolandrat:

Anyones guess really.
One things for sure, it'll be on Grand Designs soon converted to a 8 bedroom mansion.

Seems to an electricity sub station.

More likely to be a natural gas valve control room. If it was an electricity substation there would be electrical flash warning symbols on it.

Gas valve installations do make a noise of their own due to the gas flow, plus there may well be ventilation fans running the whole time. OR ducting nearby could be a complete coincidence or could be for control/telemetry lines to the building.

Its almost certainly nothing to do with telecoms.

Have look on all four sides, close up pictures of any signs or notices.

I can see on the B5057 adjacent to this building are two chambers in the road, one small / medium and one small which have been helpfully tarmaced over from the google pictures. Making it difficult to make out the markings.

It doesn’t match the style of even the smallest telephone exchanges that I’ve been in. I don’t think it is anything related to Openreach (as it is now), and does look more like a substation but yes it’s curious that there are no warning signs.

Is the T on the door the old GPO T logo?

Edited by deleted (Wed 01-Jul-20 10:08:24)

Building is in far too good condition to be BT.

In reply to a post by sidef:

More likely to be a natural gas valve control room. If it was an electricity substation there would be electrical flash warning symbols on it.

Gas valve installations do make a noise of their own due to the gas flow, plus there may well be ventilation fans running the whole time. OR ducting nearby could be a complete coincidence or could be for control/telemetry lines to the building.

Its almost certainly nothing to do with telecoms.

Digdat doesn't list a gas supplier for this area, so it might not be gas. Looks like it's just Western Power Distribution for Electricity.

Really intriguing this one. So I've managed to find the building and it's called "Wensley Booster Station" I suppose what we need to know is, is it boosting electricity or water lol, but I'm going to stick with my punt that it's water pumping station.

Anyone work for Severn Trent who can check a detailed Digdat map?

I think it is maybe a bore hole pump/filter. Springbore Ltd list "Wensley" as one of their installations.

Re.. Water Bore hole .
Yes that's my theory, that's why I put 'Are you sure those 'Fans Running' are not water pumps !. '

We go walking in the 'Peak District' a lot and I have seen this type of building before which could be supplying water for the local community who do not have normal mains running water.

I live in Derbyshire and there is Bore hole about 3 miles from me and some very old abandon ones a mile away.

In reply to a post by APTMAN:

Re.. Water Bore hole .
Yes that's my theory, that's why I put 'Are you sure those 'Fans Running' are not water pumps !. '

We go walking in the 'Peak District' a lot and I have seen this type of building before which could be supplying water for the local community who do not have normal mains running water.

I live in Derbyshire and there is Bore hole about 3 miles from me and some very old abandon ones a mile away.

I will have a closer look at the box today, but can anyone make out what this logo is on the door?:

https://ibb.co/Jm79TWZ

Looks like it’s the Dharma Initiative logo lol.

There looks to be a largish building or buildings on the left through the trees. Also I suspect a canal with a glimpse half-way to the edge of the photo and maybe passing the far buildings?

There appears to be a large square cover between the building and the fence, moss-covered.

I also note a park bench + table in the field at the side, almost as though there is a view behind the photographer.

The steep drop at the bottom left of the picture also look strange. And perhaps newly tidied up? Is it to the road? It's quite a high bank, if you compare with the gate.

Get closer and a good picture. That will soon tell all.

In reply to a post by Whitehall11:

About 1km from my home is this building in some woodland with an old T LOGO on the door, and lots of fans wiring inside. It's about 300m up the road from cabinet 3, and about 2/3k from the Darley Dale Exchange.

It also looks like the new ducting BT have laid for the new cabinet 12 ends up in some man holes about 50m away from it.

Any ideas?

PIC: https://ibb.co/4gP588P (updated)

I might be able to shed some light on this little building.
Many years ago I had some business with Severn Trent Engineering and was shown around a number of small pumping stations. At that time ST seemed to favour very low tech solutions to providing water to rural locations in the Derbyshire Dales.
It seemed to be based on finding how high the water would flow and siting a small pumping station at that point. This would comprise a stone built "shed" containing a tank with a ball valve, in the tank was arranged a stainless steel submersible pump, they seemed to favour Italian made units, this was connected to the outgoing main with a bit of rubber pipe and Jubilee clips. I presume the pump was controlled by a pressure switch on the outgoing main. I remember thinking that it was all very Heath Robinson compared with the setups over the border at Yorkshire Water. It could,of course, be a sewage pumping station but I think that the terrain around those parts would negate the need for that.
Some of the pumping stations I saw looked identical to that one. The village is called Darley Bridge and it's north east of Winster.

towdgeezer.

Edited by deleted (Wed 01-Jul-20 15:36:48)

Use to work in plenty of these buildings when I was working for the water company. . Probably a private / council owned water booster or sewage pumping station. Depending on location some might just have a small positive displacement pump, others more equipment. As for ducts etc. All pumping stations have electricity and means of comms, be it radio or landline.

Hello all,

I’ve visited the site today and here are a couple pictures:

Including the logo.

Any ideas?

https://ibb.co/4VTfrNG
https://ibb.co/wBv0cXH