Steam enthusiasts chuffed with award

The society scooped the prize for best Sussex Rural Enterprise for its restoration and display of heritage steam engines at Brede, near Hastings.

The awards reward “the keepers of our landscape and the enterprises that help define Sussex and maintain its link with our past”.

The presentation ceremony took place on October 6 at Petworth House, West Sussex, and was hosted by Lord and Lady Egremont.

Society Chairman John Foxley said:  “We are over the moon to have won this award. It is a great endorsement of the hard work that has gone into the collection from our volunteers and from Southern Water over the last 17 years.”

The Brede Steam Engine Society is a registered charity that has restored and maintained two main historic pumps on Southern Water’s behalf.

It’s growing collection, housed in Victorian buildings next to Southern Water’s Brede Water Supply Works, includes more steam engines and many other historic water pumps and artefacts.

The buildings are leased to the society by Southern Water, which also supports the volunteers in their important work preserving the industry’s industrial heritage.

For more information on the society, visit www.bredesteamgiants.co.uk.