Description:Now known as Chasewater, Norton Pool was formed in 1797 by damming two streams: the Crane Brook which flowed into the Tame, and another stream flowing into the Penk, to provide a feeder to the extended Wyrley and Essington Canal which servided local collieries. The boy on the left leans against his bicycle. A splash in the water may be from a skimmed stone. The girl on the right holds a baby.
The Pumping Station in the background on the right was built in 1855 . The chimney is from the boiler house where slack was burnt to create steam. The steam ran the huge piston pump (8 feet stroke and 3ft 6 bore with 7 strokes per minute) to raise spare water from the canal back into Chasewater. The building to the right still stands on the dam, a six sided structure housing the valve gear. this still controls the flow of water into the canal.
Postcard by Hills & Co. , St John's St Studios, Lichfield