Kempton Steam Museum, Hounslow, London. Check website for open dates and times. Charges apply.

Details

Accessibility:

There are toilets on site, but disabled facilities are not available. There is also no disability access to the engine house, although assistance dogs are permitted.

Free parking is available. 

2025: The museum is now fully accessible from the ground to the main floor via a lift.

Baby changing facilities

Accessible toilet

Bookshop

Parking

Refreshments

Toilets

The outer London Borough of Hounslow does have a Shopmobility service which can be contacted by telephone on 020 8570 3343 (at The Blenheim Centre, Prince Regent Rd, Hounslow TW3 1NL, open 10 AM to 4 PM Monday to Fridays, and CLOSED on Saturdays and Sundays) and has the following website: http://hounslowct.org.uk/shopmobility/

For a list of those London boroughs which have a Shopmobility service, please see the following website http://www.transportforall.org.uk/personal/mobility/ 

Brief Description:

The 1920s Art Deco buildings of the Kempton pumping station houses two enormous steam engines that once pumped water around North London.  The engines are the world’s largest triple-expansion steam pumping engine - one is restored to full working order and can be viewed working on set days / times and the other is retained as a static display which you can have guided tours around.

https://kemptonsteam.org/visit-us/what-to-see/

2025: "What to See at Kempton Steam Museum

See the engines that pumped London’s water for half a century

Kempton Steam Museum is home to the world’s largest working triple-expansion steam engine. It stands as high as four stacked double-decker buses and along with its identical twin, pumped vast volumes of London’s drinking water from 1929 to 1980. Follow this link to learn more about our History and the story of London’s water supply.

Open days at Kempton Steam Museum

The museum is open for several Steaming Weekends per year when we will operate ‘The Sir William Prescott Engine’. Alongside our steaming weekends are often extra events including classic cars, model boats, steam rollers, arts & crafts and much more. Please see our Special Events page for further information. The museum is also open on certain Sundays for Static Viewing, when the engine will not be running, between March and October.

Engines of Titanic proportions

The triple-expansion engines at Kempton Steam Museum are very similar in design and size to the RMS Titanic’s engines. The engines at Kempton feature in many films and documentaries about the ill-fated ship.

Things to do at Kempton Steam Museum

Every visitor is issued with a self-guided tour book which they are welcome to keep. This book allows visitors to explore the museum at their own leisure using a simple number system. Five touch screen terminals are also located in different parts of the building which enable visitors to delve deeper into the history of Kempton through a range of audio-visual materials.

On Steaming Weekends we run guided tours in the afternoons, which are available to book when you arrive on site. These tours involve exploring the static Lady Bessie Prescott Engine number 7 with one of our knowledgeable volunteers. The tours run every 20 minutes from 1.10pm until 3.30pm and must be booked at reception. They are very popular and we recommend booking as soon as you can.

In the mornings we offer self-guided tours of engine number 7 with a free guidebook, and volunteer guides will also be available on each engine level. The engine is accessible from 10.30am until 1pm, with last entry at 12:30pm.

All tours will require climbing steep stairs and have a minimum height requirement of 1.4m (4′ 7″) due to the historic railings. Guided tours are limited to 6 people per tour, self-guided tours are limited to a total of 30 people on the engine at any one time.

On all open days there will be volunteer guides available around the museum who are always happy to talk to visitors about the engines as well as the history of London’s water supply."

Other attractions

Alongside the triple-expansion engines are two Steam Turbines. One of the turbines has been motorised to demonstrate how the turbine and centrifugal pump function. Also see two rare Mercury Arc Recifiers in action powering our vintage electrical equipment.

Another attraction is the Hampton & Kempton Waterworks Railway, which is adjacent to the museum building. Train rides are normally available to the public on our steaming weekends. The railway is operated by a separate organisation and you must obtain a ticket from them for entrance to the trains.

Cafe & Shop

On Steaming Weekends we have a cafe offering hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, cakes and other light refreshments. There is also a gift shop with books, posters and toys. On Static Sundays the cafe and shop are not generally open. "

Further Information:

Address:

Telephone:

Nick Reynolds (Trust Secretary): 01256 892 325 + 01932 765328

Email:

e-mail is available via an online form: http://www.kemptonsteam.org/contact-us/

+ museum@kemptonsteam.org

Website:

http://www.kemptonsteam.org/

https://www.facebook.com/www.kemptonsteam.org

Opening Hours:

Opening hours (on steaming weekends) 10:30am to 4:00pm (first steaming 11:30am; last steaming 3:00pm)
Please view web site for dates of steaming weekends.

Prices

2025: https://kemptonsteam.org/visit-us/prices-opening-times/

On Static Sundays (Engine Not Operating): Adults £7

under-18s free

Directions: https://kemptonsteam.org/visit-us/find-us/ 2025

By car: Use satnav: TW13 7ND  ///pasta.sings.plot (What 3 Words site entrance location)

By rail, bus and on foot:  https://kemptonsteam.org/visit-us/find-us/ 2025

From Twickenham Station (South West Train) turn left out of the station and proceed to Arragon Road. Take the 290 bus towards Staines and alight at Nailhead Road bus stop.

From Staines Station (South West Trains) take the 290 bus towards Twickenham and alight at Nailhead Road bus stop.

From Nailhead Road bus stop walk down to the big roundabout, turn left into Snakey Lane with the petrol station on your right and turn left again at the mini-roundabout. Follow Snakey Lane with the Müller dairy on your left and turn sharp left into the waterworks and Kempton Steam Museum.

From Hatton Cross Underground Station (Piccadilly Line), take H25 bus towards Hanworth, alight at Castle Way bus stop.

From Feltham Station (South West Trains), take the H25 bus towards Hanworth, alight at Castle Way stop.

From Castle Way bus stop walk in the same direction as the bus, into Sunbury Way and to the big roundabout under the flyover. Turn right into Snakey Lane with the petrol station on your right, left at the mini-roundabout (second exit) and then sharp left into the waterworks and Kempton Steam Museum

From Kempton Park Station (South West Trains) walk across the car park and turn right into Park Road; follow the road over the railway bridge. Turn right alongside the A316 dual carriageway and into the underpass beneath the A316. Turn right at the end of the underpass and follow the path alongside the A316 elevated section to the big roundabout under the flyover. Turn left into Snakey Lane with the petrol station on your right, left again at the mini-roundabout, and following Snakey Lane with the Müller diary site on your left. Turn sharp left into the waterworks and Kempton Steam Museum.

OS TQ110708

Transport:  https://kemptonsteam.org/visit-us/find-us/ 2025

There is an excellent public transport system throughout London and Greater London. For more information on buses, trains (including the Tube), airports and river traffic please contact Transport For London on 0343 222 1234 (Textphone 0800 112 3456). For further details on accessible services please see the website: https://tfl.gov.uk/

Amenities:

UPDATE 2023: Step free access

Baby changing facilities

Accessible toilet

Bookshop

Parking

Refreshments

Toilets

Light refreshments and home-made cakes are available on site but there are pubs, shops and eateries in the surrounding areas of Sunbury, Hampton, Feltham, etc.