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Featherstone Wells

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yetion1
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« on: July 10, 2012, 08:45:04 pm »

Featherstone Wells

I have only seen one well in Featherstone until this week. Fortunately builders working in a house in Featherstone have discovered the second for my eyes to marvel upon.
Hidden under 3 stone slabs supported with cast iron beams was the well. The bricks appear older than the local Ackton Hall bricks commonly used. There is no mortar. The bricks are just neatly stacked to form the shaft. The rubble you see in the hole is about 5ft down. A bar shoved down in to the soft infill went about another 4ft before hitting something solid. On the surface of the infill is an amount of sludge as if the well had flooded to this level at some time.
The house owner did not know of the well but had heard that there was supposed to be a under ground stream in the area of the well under the house.
How many more wells are there in Featherstone?




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primax
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« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2012, 09:18:58 pm »

I'd be tempted to remove the rubble and sludge and see what the solid object is at the bottom. It seems strange that the bricks are not mortared together because the water will seep outwards from the well and escape aswell as the whole thing being unsafe. Looks like a well shape and probably is a well but my curiousty would have me get a shovel out.
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Forkhandles
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« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2012, 09:22:52 pm »

Thats very interesting yetion1...please keep us updated if you find more info,theres is a well at farmer copleys...its been filled in for years...the cafe is now on the site of it Grin
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firebasher
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« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2012, 10:25:34 pm »

Is it definitely a well?, could it be the shaft to an old bell pit?
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Forkhandles
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« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2012, 07:36:29 pm »

I should think the first step should be to get the bricks that form the shaft dated  Grin
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Forkhandles
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« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2012, 07:39:07 pm »

The fact theres no morter suggests to me that its not a well Grin
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Whistleblower
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« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2012, 07:41:43 pm »

I should think the first step should be to get the bricks that form the shaft dated  Grin
Or check the date on the coins that people have thrown down  Smiley  could be a fortune down there  Grin
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ridings.info
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« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2012, 08:42:11 pm »

Be mindful of the fact that if this is an abandoned bell pit the next set of slabs underneath could quite possibly open directly into a big black hole full of water and whatever else. My friends near Durham used to see this type of capping a lot and most bell pits don’t appear on maps. You just wake up one day with a 60 foot hole where the garden used to be.
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yetion1
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« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2012, 09:04:26 pm »

I share all your enthusiasm as much as a kid getting a new toy. It was by sheer chance that a builder mentioned what he had found one morning and offered a window of opportunity to have a look. The well was recovered with its original stones that afternoon and the new floor fitted above it as it had been probably for at least the last 60 years.

I have to agree that no mortar and the layout of the bricks suggest that it should not be a well. At first glance a well is simply what springs to mind. The further pictures show more of the bricks and the water table. Something is holding water?
Sorry for now what you see is what there is. Perhaps one day the owner may sell the property and someone will have a better look. Bags first in with a shovel!

If this is a bell pit, like most it will be un-recorded. Seem to remember many references on this forum about bell pits and one description of the view from St Thomas Church about the time of the original bell fitting. The view from the church looking down witnessed a scene of bell pits as far as Nostel Priory. There has to be more wells or bell pits in the local area that have been hidden. Would love to know of any maps or evidence showing such things or is this where one is created?



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primax
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« Reply #9 on: July 13, 2012, 03:06:22 pm »

It was a shame Yeti that the work was done so prompt and further investigation wasn't possible. Thanks for posting anyway.
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