The rain came

Just made it into Appleby and out again before the rain really set in. Shopping done and now we are in for the rest of the day, as it gets darker and the rain continues.

Not to worry – lots of books to read (I am currently attempting to read the Booker longlist, 13 books - crazy I know!); lots of knitting to do (orders for dolls’ clothes); photos to sort (I am actually sorting photos from a trip to Canada in 2009 – I had no time to do more than a quick photo book at the time and have now found my journal and hundreds of photos that never saw the light of day – very tempting to put it all together, even at this late stage, as it was a memorable adventure).
 
We only noticed this rather fine little building by the Eden close to the centre of Appleby, when we were putting together the trail for the grandchildren. It intrigued us and now I have found out what it probably was. It is still called the Pump House and there is apparently strong evidence to suggest that it was used to house the pumping gear used for drawing water from the river to the railway. Amazing to me that they could build a place as fine as this, just for a pumping station.

Unfortunately, there was a problem with sand from the river blocking the pumps, so another source of supply was found. The Eden Valley Dairy took over the building from the late 19th century until shortly after the First World War. It was the town’s mortuary for a while, then in the 1990s a cycle shop. Then it became a private residence and is now a holiday home.