Abridged from an article by John Bridges in the FRAM Newsletter1.
We take piped water for granted, but until as recently as 1938 Framlingham did not have it.
Water came from wells or boreholes, often pumped by hand into buckets or other containers. Some homes were fortunate enough to have their own wells but for most, water came from a public well.
In the 19th century there were probably more than 40 wells in Framlingham, mostly private.
At the end of the 19th century there were three prominent public wells in Framlingham:
- At the junction of College Road and Mount Pleasant, approximately where the old pillar box stands
- In Riverside (the pump is still there)
- Jeaffreson’s Well, at the junction of Badingham and Saxmundham roads
Jeaffreson’s Well, provided by the prominent local Jeaffreson family, was to become instrumental in the eventual provision of piped water to Framlingham.
In 1897, the family provided a deep well at that location, together with a pump and seating in the shelter we see today.
A year later, George Jeaffreson wrote this letter to the Parish Council:
Many months ago you granted me permission to try to obtain a public water supply at the junction of the Badingham and Saxmundham Roads. A well five feet in diameter, and 70 feet deep was made – result, an abundant supply of unwholesome water. From the bottom of this well a boring of five inches in diameter, and 181 feet was made, and tubed with iron tubing for 90 feet – result, an inexhaustible supply of good water, rising through the chalk and iron tube from a depth of 250 feet to within 65 feet of the surface. A pump, which any child or woman can use, has been fixed.
A shelter for the comfort and rest of those using the well has been built.
On behalf of Dr. Horace Jeaffreson, myself, and children, I ask you to accept the same, and take charge of and develop for the public good. I enclose a cheque for £100, to enable you to do so in perpetuity, without charge to anyone.
Yours faithfully,
Geo. E. Jeaffreson
Despite the gift of £100, the Parish Council failed to develop the well further, and it was soon in poor condition and the water from it deemed unfit to drink.
However the heated debate that arose can be said to have started the very long progress to piped water in Framlingham. There was a public meeting in 1906, and it was clear that there was a desire for piped water, but it was not so clear who should provide the system, and who should pay. A scheme was prepared for a private company to take water from Jeaffreson’s Well and pipe it around the town. However it was felt it should be done by a public body. The scheme did not proceed.
Anothe scheme was proposes in 1919, only to be shelved in 1920 when the cost rose significantly! A simple scheme to put an electric pump on Jeaffreson’s Well was carried out in 1929.
Finally, in the 1930s, the new Blyth Rural District Council implemented a scheme, which was completed in 1938 – some 40 years after Jeaffreson’s Well was built.
Footnote
- FRAM Newsletters No 7 April 2023 and No 8 Nov 2023. These can be viewed or downloaded at https://framlinghamhistory.uk/newsletters-and-journals/. ↩︎