A very early fire appliance dating from 1678. This is not a replica – it is original and well …

A very early fire appliance dating from 1678. This is not a replica – it is original and well over 300 years old. It was built in London by John Keeling. It originally stood on wheels and the mechanism in the centre had arms on either side (now missing) for four men to pump the water. One further man stood on top and used the hose. The barrel had to be constantly re-filled with buckets of water by further assistants.



A model of the fire appliance showing how it would have looked from new with all of the pieces in place. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, more of this type of fire appliance were ordered and by 1700 their use had become commonplace.