Wilton Water

By Mike Tanner

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As for when a piped water supply came to the village, the Parish Council records give a good account. There appears to have been some controversy about this. The entry for 18th March 1932 raises discussion of a letter from the Sanitary Inspector of the possibility of two alternative water schemes, first for twelve standpipes and a second for a full household supply. One member thought there was no need to incur any expense as the village was well supplied by easily accessible springs! It was proposed that the scheme be postponed for a year. Following several further postponements the full scheme was completed around March 1936. The Parish Council wrote to the contractors to ask that the left rubble be tidied up. Obviously nothing much changes!

It is interesting to note this was also the year electricity came to the village.

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Returning to the well at Cliff Farm, the picture below was taken in November and the water level had risen to just three foot down. Again the water is still crystal clear.

I understand that at one time there was a pump beside it, which sent water up into the attic of the house to be stored in the barrels shown below. Now they stand in the garden as flower holders.

I’m sure there’s still a lot more to record about this part of our village history. In the meantime I might just look into the possibility of bottling water – I can see the label now ‘The Bishop’s Water’. It might just catch on!

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