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Heritage &
History
Before opening to the public in May
1993 Davy Down had a long history of farming, dating back to
at least 1730.
More recently the land was used for
market gardening, which was abandoned when the new A13 was
built splitting the land holding in half.
The farm soon became derelict and
unsightly and remained so until the Davy Down Project began.
The area also retains a rich heritage
in the form of the impressive railway viaduct across the
Mardyke Valley which dates from 1892.
There are also the dominant Stifford
Pumping Station buildings, built in 1926-27 to house large
diesel engines which provided the power to extract water
from a 42m deep borehole in the chalk below.
Water is still being extracted today
using a modern electric pump.
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