water well

[dinglem]

We have a cottage dated approximately 1650 which we have moved into approximately 5 months ago. Having met elderly neighbours we have been informed that there used to be an old well located on our front garden. This feature is no longer visible, but may well covered over/backfilled. It is now covered by a lawned area. The informative neighbour used to play in our garden as a child and claims to have a photograph of this well which should aid us in locating the well site.

We would ideally like to excavate the well if it is still in place as it would make a lovely feature. Any help, views advice appreciated as we are unsure where to start!!

M.

 

[biffvernon]

Get a spade.

(Shame about the lawn)

 

[David Q]

You need a long thin metal pole. Work your way across the area pushing the pole into the soil. Anywhere the soil has been disturbed in the past the pole will go in easier. Mark any spots with a little flag and then dig there. But be careful, you don't know how it was capped!

 

[L1zzy]

Alternatively you need some water divining rods - I've used them and they definitley work - I bought mine in a local eco type knicky knacky store. THEN you'll need the spade al la Biff.!!

 

[thiambal]

Try not to stand over the expected hole when starting digging. Having the firebrigade out to rescue you from your own well would be embarrasing!

 

[NT]

... and very difficult to organise when 30 ft down a well with a smashed mobile phone and a broken leg.

NT

 

[Lime]

... and very difficult to organise when 30 ft down a well with a smashed mobile phone and a broken leg.

NT

Take a corded phone with you it will give you something to climb back up on.

My advice is to stand on a large plank of wood when digging over what you think is a well.
Even though the capping may have been effective when put in the passage of time and water changes things considerably.

 

[worms]

Even though the capping may have been effective when put in...

That's a cheery thought - my capped well is somewhere underneath where I park the Landrover!

 

[Carol]

Fingers crossed for a solid cap! Ours was with a couple or three large flagstones, 'secured' at one end and hovering at the other. Had several weeks of waking up thinking of 'what might have been.' Our table and chairs had been sitting happily on top. Although our vendor had mentioned a well he had no idea of location!

 

[Lime]

Even though the capping may have been effective when put in...

That's a cheery thought - my capped well is somewhere underneath where I park the Landrover!

When I moved into a new house in the 70s the removal van found the well in the front drive by loosing a back wheel down it!

 

[middi]

..........and don't worry about falling in the well, there won't be any valuable works of art in the bottom that you can damage :wink:

 

[MdB]

Wells are nothing. What you want to worry about is mine shafts. Around here, the Victorians (bless them) capped mine shafts with oak beams. These take say 100 years or so to rot and then collapse. There are some nice stories of people waking up and finding they don't have a back garden any more...

 

[Moo]

It's a similar situation here in Norwich, though it's v. ancient chalk workings that do the damage. Reports of a woman opening the door of her kitchen and seeing her downstairs bathroom at the bottom of a large hole. And, of course, the road outside the Catholic cathedral that collapsed under the weight of a double-decker bus.

 

[Nemesis]

Blimey,,, was the bus damaged?

 

[Moo]

Come to think of it, I'm not sure. Once we had all been reassured that nobody was hurt, the comic side of the event overwhelmed any concern for the poor old bus.
If I can find it, I'll try to post a picture - it was in all the papers. Unless, that is, Gareth has one immediately to hand.

 

[Penners]

Alternatively you need some water divining rods - I've used them and they definitley work - I bought mine in a local eco type knicky knacky store.

Dinglem

Don't dismiss Lizzy's suggestion of divining. But you don't have to buy divining rods - you can make them.

I was utterly sceptical about divining until a neighbour persuaded me to have a go in his garden. He gave me two bits of wire coat hanger, bent into L shapes. I held the shorter lengths loosely in my hands, so that the longer lengths were parallel to the ground and pointing straight out in front of me. I then walked slowly across his garden. At one point, the horizontal wires both suddenly swung sideways and crossed.

The neighbour then told me that a land drain crossed his garden at exactly that point. I had no prior knowledge of this.

He insists that anyone can divine like this. For a single-point water feature like a well, do it in two directions at 90 degrees to each other, and you should be able to locate the exact spot of the well. You may need to make several passes in each direction, moving a little each time.

Give it a try - it won't cost you anything! And do let us know how you get on.

 

[MdB]

This guy will give you $1,000,000 if you manage to get divining rods to work reliably. (They don't - it is total bunk)

Having said that, its fun to try (I did as a kid - seem to remember that I thought it worked). It will certainly get you a reputation with the locals...

 

[NT]

I also tried it once, and found the water supply first time. But as Mr Randi has shown, no-one has yet managed to do it reliably. So its a funny thing, but it does get results sometimes. And since it takes 3 minutes and costs £0:00p its worth a go.


NT

 

[Penners]

get divining rods to work reliably. (They don't - it is total bunk)

So how do you explain my own experience, and that of many other people who have had the same kind of surprise success?

Believe me, when it comes to the paranormal, supernatural, etc., nobody is more sceptical than I am.

And I thought divining was total bunk - until I tried it.

 

[MdB]

Divining is a an easy thing to test and has been by Mr Randi and others repeatedly. So far, nobody can perform with better than chance success.

Penners, in your case, you don't know it worked, you are taking your neighbours word that his memory of the location of the drain is correct. Now I am sure your neighbour is trustworthy and has a good memory so lets call that a success and I am sure you have told others about it. I bet also that you have come across other people who have tried it and think it works also? However, how many people have you come across that have tried it and failed? I am sure this is a small number. When people succeed in something they like to tell other people but failures they keep quiet about.

If you say divining has a 50% success rate (i.e. it is chance) and you have 10 friends that have tried it, then 5 will succeed and tell everyone. The remaining 5 who fail keep quiet so through speaking to others it will appear that divining works even though it is just chance.

You can also argue about unconscious clues that you pick up from the environment which bias the way you make the rods move (no, they don't move by themselves). I.e. I could probably do a good job of guessing where drains etc are by looking for dips in the ground / assuming that they run from downpipes and then in straight lines from the house and I know little about building work. From reading your posts, I know you know a lot more than I do about building work so would be better at this than I would be.

If you still think it works, try a blind test. Get somebody to fill one of two buckets with water and then cover with a blanket or something. See if you can identify the correct bucket more than chance, say 80% of the time. If you can do this, speak to Mr Randi and earn yourself a very easy $1,000,000.