The Parish
Well
Situated in the centre of the village of Hampstead Norreys is the lovely Grade II listed Parish Well. It is
complete with a triple-throw hand-cranked pump mechanism for withdrawing water and is enclosed in an Oak four sided
structure with tiled roof.
The well was gifted to the parish in 1903 by Harry Weber Esq. who lived at Hawkridge, near Frilsham. Mr Weber owned
Manor Farm, Hampstead Norreys, from 1902 until 1909.
Parishioners would come, with their buckets, to fetch water from the well before mains water was
piped to the village. It could also be pumped into a trough, beside the well, for watering animals or routed
through a delivery pipe io people’s containers for carrying home.
The well was not very deep and so the water volume and quality were not great. In the 1930’s, an additional single
cranked borehole pump, driven straight down into the water table, was installed further along Church Street to the
north of the well. This was used to supply water to villagers’ right up to when mains water arrived in the early
1950’s.
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The arrival of mains water meant that the Parish Well was no longer being used on a
regular basis and, sadly, it became quite neglected and fell into a state of significant disrepair.
The floor began to crumble and disintegrate around the well opening and the pump mechanism and
wellhead seized up due to rust and corrosion.
The protective superstructure of the well was in fairly good condition with the roof having recently
been retiled; however, significant amounts of work were required to the woodwork which was in very poor
condition with whole sections having rotted away. |
The foundation wall supporting the oak structure was also at risk of collapsing.
The
Project
Objectives
Hampstead Norreys Parish Well is a Grade II Listed Building and so it was essential that all
work complied with the guidelines set out by the local Conservation Office.
In the first instance a survey was undertaken to assess the state of the well’s
superstructure and working parts.
Building consent was not required; the project moved forward into the next stage which was to obtain
quotations from suitable tradesmen who were experienced in working on Listed Buildings. |
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Renovation
Renovation work started on the Parish Well in September 2013. The first task was to
rebuild the foundation wall on which the structure is mounted. This wall lies in the old riverbed and when the
water level is high the area is prone to flooding. This had had an adverse effect on the brickwork, over many
years, resulting in much of the mortar having been washed away leaving the wall substantially weakened and liable
to collapse.
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Re-building the foundation
wall
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The pump
mechanism was then hoisted clear of the floor so that the old concrete could be
broken out and the debris
cleared.
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A new reinforced concrete slab was
laid with the well opening being left exposed.
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An
iron grating was fitted across the aperture to enable the well chamber to be
visible.
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The pump mechanism was removed from site in
order that it could be sand blasted, removing all the rust and corrosion. Once this has been
completed the whole was primed and finished with two coats of a suitable
matt-black paint
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A large
number of the
timbers in the oak
frame
were rotten or had
become
loose and
unstable. It
was
necessary for whole areas
of
the frame to be
dismantled
and new but traditionally
seasoned oak spliced in.
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The frame was then reconstructed using traditional
woodworking methods, such as mortise and tenon joints so no screws
or nails were used.
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42 decorative spiked finials, which edged the top of the oak frame, were badly
affected by rust and corrosion so it wasn't possible for any to be reused. Fortunately, there was,
one spike, which was still intact, so the blacksmith was able to use this as a pattern when
recasting the replacement finials.
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Sometime in the past, probably when the roof was retiled the guttering had, unfortunately been replaced
with plastic piping. This was, obviously, not in keeping with a Grade II Listed Building and research showed
that the guttering would have originally been cast iron.All the old plastic piping was removed and replaced with
cast iron and an overflow pipe was extended over the Well Garden enabling excess water to be distributed away from
the Parish Structure, thus avoiding any future problems with water ingress into the walls and timber.
The renovation work was completed in November 2013 with the two newly refurbished plaques,
commemorating the donation of the well in 1903 and the village ‘ Best Kept Village’ competition,
being returned to their original places.
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