The pumping station has undergone several modifications since its initial construction, including revising the wheel into two sections each 12 feet (3.7 m) wide separated by a 9-inch (23 cm) gap.

The station's operational life ended in 1952, by which time its maintenance and repair had become uneconomical in the light of falling traffic on the canal.

In the 1960s and 1970s restoration was carried out by students from the University of Bath and the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, who replaced and repaired the buildings and equipment and returned the pumping station to a functional state by 1978.

The water flows to the pumping station down a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide leat, which is crossed by a single segmental arch bridge with a central keystone.

From there, cranks drive vertical connecting rods that transfer the energy to two 18-foot (5 m) long cast iron rocking beams made by Boulton and Watt.

Each pump stroke raises 50 imperial gallons (230 litres) of water to the canal via 150 feet (46 m) of 19-inch (0.48 m) diameter cast iron pipe.

With the sluice fully depressed the flow is 73 ft3/s and due to the build-up of spent water in the tail-race the working head is reduced to 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m), giving a potential power of 343⁄4 hp.

[8] The idea of an east to west waterway link across southern England was first mentioned in Elizabethan times, between 1558 and 1603,[10] to take advantage of the proximity of the rivers Avon and Thames, only 3 miles (4.8 km) apart at their closest.

[11] In 1788 the so-called "Western Canal" was proposed to improve trade and communication links to towns such as Hungerford, Marlborough, Wiltshire, Calne, Chippenham and Melksham.

The following year the engineers Barns, Simcock and Weston submitted a proposed route for this canal, although there were doubts about the adequacy of the water supply.

[12] In 1793 a further survey was conducted by John Rennie, and the route of the canal was altered to take a more southerly course through Great Bedwyn, Devizes, Trowbridge and Newbury.

[13] Crofton Pumping Station, to the east near Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, was built to supply water to the summit pound of the canal; it opened in 1810 but, unlike Claverton, was powered by steam.

Further delays relating to obtaining specific items of machinery meant that the pumping station did not open until early 1813, and until then boats were prohibited from using Bath Locks during periods of low rainfall.

The British Transport Commission installed a 6-inch (15 cm) centrifugal pump to maintain the statutory minimum water level.

By 1972 some progress had been made; John Butt retired and Derrick Dudden took over as restoration manager, with more volunteers from the Canal Trust helping to provide the labour.

[27] From 2012 to 2016 the pumping station underwent another restoration of the woodwork, which involved replacing all 288 starts on the waterwheel, and all 96 float and seal boards, as well as the 408 oak teeth of the pit wheel.