Originally known as the Cumberland Basin Hydraulic Engine House,[1] the Pump House was constructed around 1870 by Thomas Howard to house a hydraulic pump that powered bridges and lock gates around the harbour.[2] It was replaced by the current Hydraulic engine house at Underfall Yard in 1888.[3][4] and is now a public house and restaurant.[1]
It is built of Pennantrubble bricks, with limestone dressings and a roof made from pantiles. The main building is one storey high, 4 windows across. In addition, there is a two-story accumulator tower to the left hand side of the building. The dressings include pronounced quoins, jambs and voussoirs. The entrance is a wide elliptical-arch, which would have been large enough for carriages, and there is a large semicircular-arched window to the left of the entrance. The right-hand section of the building is set back slightly and has a small semicircular-arched doorway with a narrow window above. The accumulator tower has its own semicircular-arched doorway, and narrow window above. At the top of the tower, there is a wrought-iron weather vane, and on the left side there is a large arrowslit. The building was designated a grade II listed building on 18 February 1972.[1]
The building was converted into a pub, and was taken over by the current chef, Toby Gritten, on 11 July 2007.[5][6] Around this time, the building had an extensive refurbishment, including an internal mezzanine, where the restaurant is located, a bar on the ground floor and a terrace outside.[5] Gritten won the Best Chef award at the Bristol Good Food Awards in 2013.[7]
