Watery wells helped grow crops in summer months
ROUSER has recently been writing about finding wells.
Now Fiona Durling of Westham, near Pevensey, has sent in this 1935 photograph of a Sussex well in the act of being constructed.
She says: "This was an exciting occasion when the well at Dell Nursery, Walburton, was dug. My father, John Mills, is on the left and my grandfather, Charlie, is behind the equipment.
"A diesel engine was installed to pump water up to a large 20ft high tank. There would then be enough pressure for a small hose pipe.
"This innovation meant that crops could be grown more easily in a dry summer like this year.
"So wells were probably still being dug in the 1940s as many country areas did not have mains water.
"There are still a few homes hidden away down Sussex country tracks without mains water or electricity. I have visited several over the last 15 years. One had a hand pump in the kitchen to pump well water
into a tank on the roof.
"Another well in a garden had the traditional bucket and rope. This was the only supply for the two residents.
'My relatives told me that using a hand pump was usually the job of the children of the house.
"They would argue over the number of 'pumps' they had given to the lever each day.
"Some village wells, such as those at Ringmer and Falmer, are still an interesting feature of the area.
"If the mains water supply fails in coming years, wells could become important again."
Thanks Fiona.
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Weather for Lewes
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
