Technology and the Big House in Ireland, c. 1800–c.1930 By Charl ...

elevation. The first floor could be also supplied with water by means of a second lift pump and cistern, drawing the water from the lower one.⁷ A more sophisticated system of rainwater supply in the house involved a cistern in the roof space, to which the water was manually pumped, thus making a gravity feed available to any location in the mansion via pipes. The penalty for this desirable state of affairs was the extra work involved—due to the greater height—in pumping every gallon of water that would be used to the elevated cistern. This was achieved by the use of a force pump.⁸ The force pump was a development of the lift pump already described. Although similar in outward appearance, there were several differences internally. Examples were in use in Ireland at least as early as 1834, as Peter Ryan, blacksmith to the earl of Bessborough, made parts for one in that year. Later, several “forcing pumps” were included in the details of properties for sale by the Incumbered Estates Court between the years 1853 and 1864.⁹

A cross-sectional drawing of a force pump in plate 4 has the operating handle pivoted on a rocking standard. This allows the piston rod, constrained by its guide, to move only with a linear motion. Wear of the piston barrel thus is greatly reduced compared with the rocking piston action of the previous simple pump. There is no valve in the piston of the force pump; instead, a delivery pipe with its outward opening delivery valve is mounted at the bottom of the pump barrel. Depressing the handle sucks water through the open tail valve, the delivery valve being closed. Raising the handle closes the tail valve, and the water in the barrel is forced under pressure through the open delivery valve to an elevated cistern. There was considerable effort involved in operating the pump for the necessary time each day to raise the required quantity of water. Now added to the weight of the column of water in the suction pipe, as in the lift pump, was the weight of the column of water in the delivery pipe, possibly three stories high. Indeed, as is considered later, in some circumstances, the work would have been too physically demanding for one person.¹⁰