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Original letter dated:
6th June 1961 |
Dear Sir,
I apologise for not replying earlier to your letter of the 17th April but I have been making investigations concerning the water supply in the Parish of Owslebury.
Following the passing of the Public Health Act, 1875, the then new Winchester Rural Sanitary Authority investigated the question of the provision of a water supply for the Village. At that time, there were three or four wells in the Village and some five or six soft water tanks but in dry weather the supply was very limited.
In 1880, the sanitary Authority decided to sink a deep well and provide a large storage tank with machinery for the raising of the water into the tank. Furthermore, it was also decided to lay water mains and fix standpipes through the Village. It was hoped by this means there would be a constant supply of water for the Village and adjoining neighbourhood. The latter to pay a water rate for their supply which would help pay for the working expenses.
The machinery for the raising of the water comprised a large windmill fitted to the brick tower and the mill contained 72 fans. The well from which the water was pumped was 284 ft. deep. It was hoped that the supply tank would hold a three months supply for the Village. The Sanitary Inspector for the District at that time (a Mr. D. Denham) was appointed General Superintendent of the Waterworks on the 4th December, 1880, and a Mr. R. Ansty was appointed to supervise the oiling of the machinery at a wage of £15 per year. On the 18th January, 1881, during a severe snowstorm, the large mill wheel with its fans was smashed with only 2 ft. of water in the tank and urgent repairs had to be effected.
During the following summer it was found that when the springs were low there was a definite water shortage and it was decided that something would have to be done to supplement the wind power upon which the water supply depended. The Sanitary Authority then decided to hire a steam engine for that purpose, a Mr. Standish offering to supply a man and engine at 10/- per day.
In November, 1881, several of the large fans in the mill wheel were again blown away and from that time onwards until about the latter part of 1882 there seemed to have been constant trouble with the machinery and with water shortage from the well. In fact, on the 23rd June, 1882, there was 3 ft. of water in the tank and the well itself was dry. Strangely enough, at Longwood House the Earl of Northesk had a well 260 ft. deep with a good supply of water and this well was situated only about one mile from the Owslebury Waterworks.
On November the 19th 1881 the Sanitary Authority decided to employ Dean & Smith to provide water either by wind or steam with more continuous pumping. This arrangement went on until November, 1884, when the Sanitary Authority was advised to sink a 4" borehole. By December the 8th the bore had reached 53 ft. in depth (27 ft. below the well at Longwood) but strangely enough no water was found. Progress in boring was very slow due to considerable layers of flints which had been encountered but by January the 19th the men carrying out the boring operations had penetrated the seal of flints and had reached 113 ft. without finding much water.
On January the 31st the bore had reached 137 ft. in rather soft chalk but seams of flints were still being found at intervals of roughly 2 ft. Boring was finished on March the 4th and the well had then reached some 200 ft. The yield of water from this bore was, to quote the official report, "one quart of water per minute". After working for five months the supply had only just doubled. At that time there were apparently 42 cottages and 2 farms to be supplied with water.
The two farms had water laid into the dwellings and the cottagers obtained their supply from the standpipes in the Village street. The rather haphazard arrangement of steam plus wind continued until March, 1915, when the pumps gave out and flooded with 80 ft. of water in the well and no means of raising the supply into the storage tanks. The District Council then consulted with other firms of Water Engineers and on September the 20th 1915 a small vertical petrol oil engine of four horse power complete with all equipment plus rising main for the sum of £215 was installed.
This arrangement continued fairly satisfactorily by means of judicious pumping for many years and the supply was under the control of a Joint Water Board comprising five members of the Winchester Rural District Council, four members selected by the Parish Council and a Mr. W. Bridle who was the Village Blacksmith in charge of the Waterworks. In 1948 water mains were laid covering Owslebury Village, Baybridge and those parts of Morestead south of Hill Farm. The supply was made available to consumers in August, 1949. In 1951 an extension to cover the Hensting Lane area was undertaken and water was made available early in the following year.
The old wind pump building was, of course, demolished in 1958 and the reservoir some 30 yds. away has also now been filled in.
I hope this information will be helpful to you.
Yours truly,
R. W. Partington
Clerk of the Council |