Guernsey parish restoring historic water pumps

The parish has 16 historic water pumps which were installed in the 18th and 19th Centuries

A Guernsey parish has started restoring historic water pumps throughout the town in order to preserve them.

St Peter Port has 16 pumps, many of which have fallen into disrepair since they were installed in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

One pump on Mount Row has already been restored, with the constables seeking planning permission to repair two more.

Stuart Pearce, the architect working on the project, said the pumps were "a fascinating bit of social history", but some had already been lost so "it would be a shame to lose any more".

Constable Zoe Lihou said the work was an ongoing project for the parish and had been on a "to-do list for a while".

The work is designed to restore and protect the historic monuments, but does not include making them pump water again.

Mrs Lihou said the work had cost £4,000 so far and that the future budget would depend on the work needed.

As the pumps were not built to a standard design, Mrs Lihou some pumps needed "more specialist repair" because of their "composition and materials".