I did a trial day with an established group of Dowsers about 4 years ago … it worked every time for me. I’ve not done it since.
I grew up in an old farmhouse dating back to at least Tudor times. It was sort of ‘T’ shaped and there was a deep ‘well’ up against the walls in the northfacing corner … it was really more of a cistern than a well as it was sited to collect the rainwater from the ‘valley’ between two roofs. It appears that there had at one time been a manual pump which had ours spout over the sink in the kitchen. I know of a farmhouse in Suffolk that still had that arrangement for their water until into the 1990s.
So when you’re looking for a well check below north-facing roof valleys.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I can, as could my dad, my daughter and her partner.
I use 2 old wire coat hangers, each with the hook and one side cut off. You hold the short ends, not too tightly and have the long ends pointing ahead. Then you walk around, apparently aimlessly.
If there is running water the ends will twitch and then cross when you are right on target. You can then work out the line of the water course, get your spade and dig to find how deep it is and which way it flows.
I have absolutely no idea how it works, but it does
We find it very useful, as our land has old Victorian land drains and springs that move about and can pop up anywhere and it helps us locate blocked soughs and work out where to dig new channels for best effect.
We have a well at the front of the cottage which we are working on to make a feature. It has an iron man hole cover which we will replace with some strong weld mesh when the stonework is complete. We have an old cast iron pump but are not sure how we would incorporate it. I think I would prefer to see a traditional well top roof with a bucket.
I tried divining when I was a kid, can still do it. I am not sure if I have a well or not. There is a square, dressed stone built construction in my garden. It is capped with cement. There is another one in the field next to my garden. Close to where the farmer now has a plastic plpe and tap to fill a water trough for his cattle. I have chickened out of removing the cap as I feel there may be several feet of rubble backfilling the shaft of the well, if there is one. I am so envious of everyone who has one. I grew up with a well, the water is like wine! Always icy cold, so clear and almost sweet to taste. Yum.
Found this post whilst researching a well we've just uncovered in our garden. We've lived here for 26 years and had no idea about the well. It was 16 feet deep down to the water surface, and that was around 4 feet deep. We worried about safety (we have young grandchildren who visit often), so decided to partially fill it. We found it while digging a terrace for a patio, we live on a hillside so the garden slopes, and it was covered by a huge concrete step which we always thought was in a strange place. I'd love to know about it's history.
My neighbour has a well in her garden. It would have belonged to a large house nearby. She has put it to good use installed a pump and has a natural source of water for her plants. There is also a small wood at the bottom of her garden and there is a second well in there. We keep away no idea if it is covered or not.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have chickened out of removing the cap as I feel there may be several feet of rubble backfilling the shaft of the well, if there is one.
I am so envious of everyone who has one. I grew up with a well, the water is like wine! Always icy cold, so clear and almost sweet to taste. Yum.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
She has put it to good use installed a pump and has a natural source of water for her plants. There is also a small wood at the bottom of her garden and there is a second well in there. We keep away no idea if it is covered or not.