Tankerness, Ness Farm

HY50NW 33 5436 0936

See also HY50NW 62.

At Ness farm there is a rare operational example of a pre-war Climax windpump. Its owner, Mr D Harcus, also restored and maintains the one at Loch of Tankerness (HY50NW 24).

RCAHMS 1987 (OR56), visited May 1986

This Climax windpump was originally installed by the army at Greaves, Ham, Orkney where a large army supply depot was located, supplying drinking water for the site. It was dismantled and rebuilt at it's present position in the early 1950s, replacing a hand pump.

NMRS MS/500/31/19/2

Mid 19th century farm steading with wind-powered water pump to NW of farmhouse. WIND-POWERED WATER PUMP: steel-framed tripod supporting steel sails in circular arrangement; wind-direction paddle from centre; rectangular water tank raised on concrete support adjacent to N. The wind pump is manufactured by Climax, of Horsham, Surrey, as were several other, basically identical pumps on the mainland. It was installed by the Army in the early 1940s at Holm, also on the mainland, where a large Army supply depot was located. The wind pump supplied water for the site. It was dismantled and rebuilt at the present site in the early 1950s, replacing a hand pump which was the previous method of water supply at the Ness. The upper mechanism consists of 18 sheet metal sails (reduced in length from the original) and a fan tail just over a meter long. A timber pump rod (now missing) was housed by the tapered metal frame and caused water to be delivered to the pressed steel tank flanking it. Very few wind pumps survive in Orkney, often having been dismantled when settlements were connected to a mains water supply. (ref: Historic Scotland)