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Leawood Pumphouse was built by the Cromford Canal Company to provide a water supply to the canal. It commenced operation in 1850 raising water from the River Derwent and became necessary after the canal company lost its right to the supply of water from Cromford Sough at the head of the canal.

The pump house contains a Cornish-type steam engine built by Graham & Company of Elsecar (near Barnsley). It is a beam engine of the single cylinder, single-acting type working a large pump piston. This is weighted with cast iron and pumps water up approximately 10 metres into the canal, approximately 4 tons at each stroke at around 4 strokes per minute.

Steam for the engine is generated by a pair of railway-type boilers installed by the Midland Railway in 1900, replacing, it is thought, a pair of Cornish-type boilers. (The Midland Railway had owned the canal company from the 1850s).

The pumphouse is Listed Grade II* and together with the neighbouring aqueduct over the River Derwent is also a scheduled monument.

The engine remains in working condition and is operated approximately once a month from spring to autumn (as of 2023). See Link for more information.