Read the transcripts and collections - records of events and past times in this new archive of the village history from the residents themselves. Contact Tim Arnold if you have text to add, or want to have your knowledge and experience of village life transcribed for future generations.
This is a new page, created in celebration of the first 100 years since homes in the village were first sold to private ownership in 1919. We welcome your comments and contributions.
Mains water did not arrive until 1965, the central village, e.g. London Row, they initially had mains taps installed in their front lobbies and for a few in Winspit Road, some did not get “switched on” until 1966, but we were on the mains in 1965. The pump house on the way out of Worth was originally installed to serve Acton, not Worth.
Sewerage work commenced in 1973 and starting in 1974, Dean and Dyball were the company who did the Groundwork. Parts of the village and fields resembled scenes from the Battlefields of Flanders during WW1, particularly just over the wall from us of East- Winspit Road, overlooking Winspit Field, which looked very depressing at the time, The work was completed by 1976, which meant that our septic tank was emptied for the last time just before the ‘Big Switch’, the original pump was very noisy, and many people complained about it waking them at night, it was on some sort of timer system. A newer and improved one was installed by Wessex Water when they had taken it over, and was ceremoniously opened in 1985/86 and now you cannot hear it. But I know for certain that it was up and running by at least 1978, I believe by early 1976 and no later than 78 for certain.
There were various properties who did manage to have water piped to their homes prior to that, from private sources, a handful were periodically served by Eastington, and that may have been the case for Abbascombe Council Houses, they were built in 1948, although they may have been on the same system that Acton was on, but I don’t know.
Most of the farms who did pipe water around, they were very guarded and reluctant to share to any properties, their pipework was installed to fill the large farm troughs and the smaller cattle troughs and were not there for their general workforce’s use. Everyone used the pump and before my time, the well in the Withy Bed too, if they had no well of their own .
There were several large asbestos water tanks situated on farmland, with ballcock systems. Every now and again, one of the farm labourers would pop along to the tanks and clear the stop-valves of algae and the tanks were abundant with Common and Crested Newts. The tanks were the same as the one that is in the Field at Abbott’s way, I remember four. There was and is still one amongst the overgrown area at the bottom of Winspit Field, just as you go through the gate, to the left, two attached to Worth Manor Farm, one in the Farm Yard and another in the field below the Square and Compass and opposite/between the East garden wall of Percy Wallace’s House and inline with Worth Farm’s barn and main yard.
I think that the one in the Dairy Yard was circular, whereas the others were oblong, or almost a perfect square, around one and a half to two feet deep. There was also one within the woods of Quarry Cottage, which Douglas (Henry ) Cowman had installed. Incidentally, he worked in a chemistry lab, which was situated in the upper floor above Miles and Son, or Purl and Lace, I can’t recall which now, he also taught there. I know that he was also a school master, but he was well known for developing and working on Chemical Research during WW1 up until 1916, with The Gaslight and Coke works at Beckton, his family, or at least her family were part of Colonial Britain, including Singapore, her family line included Berkley Addison (her grandfather), Incumbent of the Church of Jerusalem, which I believe is why Douglas and Margaret had their wedding solemnised in Jerusalem, after having a civil ceremony at the British Consulate, Douglas was a teacher in The English College -St Georges Jerusalem, the civil ceremony was followed by a second ceremony at The Church of Jerusalem, Israel, then another ceremony in Newcastle England, although banns were called in Gloucester, where she lived at the time, his family lines had been mainly involved as Clerks to Lloyds Bank and to various Merchant Cutters...when he was dying, Mrs Cowman used to walk up through the valley with her hymn and prayer book, singing at the top of her voice, one unkind villager whose home overlooked the valley, called her, ‘the wailing widow in waiting’, but on the whole the village folk ensured that they had fresh food and assistance daily, she stayed for a while after his death, then went to live in a Nursing Home in Stourpaine... I will stop there, before I go off on another tangent...
I also know that there was some sort of system, plus reservoir steel tanks within the scrubland which became Kings Acre, one served Crows Nest, and perhaps one served Faraway in its most earliest days too, although I think that I recall Biddy and Peter Newton, who had Faraway, using the same Water Tanker service as Dad and Mum used for their two homes in Winspit Road, each had the benefit of fitted bathrooms and flush toilets, and I think that Faraway had a posh bathroom and kitchen upgrade in around 1952-4, so prior to that, perhaps one of the reservoir tanks (there were around 3) was converted/utilised briefly for the use of Faraway too, although I recall that by 1962 onwards, two of those small reservoirs at Kings Acre, which I recall out of the three, they were minus their covers and dry, and a bit rusty looking too, apart from the one used by Mr Holland at Crows Nest , and I think that he only used it as a backup system, when his property’s reservoir tank was dry, or running dry.
So, Kings Acre was untouched and remained as scrubland and no mains pipes were installed there at all in 1965, ours was installed directly left of the track as you face Winspit, and no ‘official’ pipes ran through that plot of Kings Acre, however, when Digger driver, Les Lucas began to dig out what was to become a swimming pool or large pond at Kings Acre, close to and opposite Belros and to Downside’s top end of the garden about 1969-71, when Dad was building Kings Acre, Les managed to sever a pipe and there was a flood, the pipe had not been noted on the Land surveyor’s assessment, or on any other paperwork, which does probably indicate that it was something to do with WW2 and the MoD, very little paperwork from that era was available, and most likely it was not deemed as of any importance or to have been worthwhile documenting, or even gaining permission from the original Land owner for, the land was mainly unused from around the mid 1800s apart from being used as paddocks by the Farmers Strange, it was more or less abandoned, initially used for growing Flax and hemp, but demands and profits for Flax was a long gone thing of the past... anyway to continue before I go off on a wilder and more twisted tangent... the breach of the mystery pipe, 3 large Mixer lorries of concrete were ordered and a generator and pump, plus the local water board was contacted before that, it was not known where the pipe, which was lined with asbestos, or made from asbestos, came from. It was dealt with by the water board, but it was not their pipework or supply.
It was believed to have been installed as a two way syphon pipe, rather than an inlet pipe, although with some sort of backup two way syphon valve somewhere/ elsewhere in the village, or beyond. It was also thought that it had been installed as a backup system for The Tre-RAF camp at Renscombe, further discussions with Percy Wallace, he believed it was the surplus-water supply that was offered to Swanage During WW2, around 1942-43, redundant as the RAF used the supply syphoned up from Encombe Valley and another backup system from lower Afflington and Woodyhyde, according to Percy, he also mentioned that it might have even been installed for military use as early as mid-WW1 or even much earlier.
In Swanage, they had several back up reservoirs dotted around the town during that period. One was situated at where the Library stands now and I’m almost sure that I recall seeing it still there when I was travelling around in my pushchair (propelled by Esme pushing it of course). Worth’s water, however, it did not pass the hygiene test, so was declined by the MoD, largely due to the living memory of folk knowing of Worth Matravers relatives who had suffered during the 19th century cholera epidemics up yer in Wurr, most wells in the village were just holes, the epidemic was alleviated largely by a simple solution, a one and a half to two foot high stone surround at the top of the well prevented farmyard and cesspit contaminated rain water from entering the wells.
...My long winded account was to ensure that whoever may have thought 1956, well maybe they were thinking about an alternative, limited supply, but the official mains was 1965, maybe that was a typo 65/56 is easily done? Incidentally Jack, our bits of land were of such poor soil. It was largely used for Flax growing, and by the time that the industrial revolution arrived, Flax and linen was no longer in demand, although briefly it was still grown here along with the hemp that was grown around Chapmans Pool, and was spun and fashioned into sacking for the local farms, then as my Granddad (Mum’s Dad) would explain: there was a bit of need for flax during the 1920s and early 1930s, more due to fashion and cheap clothes than anything else. I’m not sure if that was true, or just his excuse for photos with him dressed in thin, flimsy and creased looking suits. When I was a kid, most of the land was turned into horse and calving paddocks and the rest was general scrubland.
Belinda Norman 24th May 2022
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