The Parish Council, in conjunction with our contractor Cottage Garden Services revealed for the first time in many years the Artesian Well that served the people of Eastleach.
The Well is fed by a spring and provided the everyday water supply for the Village since its installation in 1874. The Well was capped off in the late 1990’s and has gradually disapeared from view due to the overgrowth from shrubs, brambles and overhanging hedges.
The estate was bought in the 1860s and Thomas Sebastian and Elizabeth (nee Gardner) made lots of improvements, so the well is likely to be something they introduced. Cathy Bazley.
There is a fine Crest on one side which I suspect would be from the time of the Bazley’s but it would be interesting to learn more about this if anyone has any more information.
Photographs by Pete McHugh
During the Spring and Summer, further work will be done around the Well so that it can once again become a feature of our Village after being “lost” for so long.
It isn’t our intention to make the well function again, just to admire.
If anyone knows of the whereabouts of the missing Ball from the top, or could point us in the direction of a replacement, the Parish Council or Ernest Cook Trust would be interested to hear from you.
What is an Artesian well?
It is a well from which water flows under natural pressure without pumping.
It is dug or drilled wherever a gently dipping, permeable rock layer (such as sandstone) receives water along its outcrop at a level higher than the level of the surface of the ground at the well site.
At the outcrop the water moves down into the aquifer (water-bearing layer) but is prevented from leaving it, by impermeable rock layers (such as shale) above and below it.
Pressure from the water’s weight (hydrostatic pressure) forces water to the surface of a well drilled down into the aquifer; the pressure for the steady upflow is maintained by the continuing penetration of water into the aquifer at the intake area.
In places where the overlying impermeable rocks are broken by joints or faults, water may escape through them to rise to the surface as artesian springs.
In some areas, artesian wells and springs are a major source of water, especially in arid plains adjacent to mountain ranges that receive precipitation.
The rapid development of new wells through over-drilling, however, has tended to reduce head pressures in many artesian systems. As a result, most artesian wells are now outfitted with pumps.
