Page 18 - Jigsaw December 2019

Glance at the past.......................................................................................
The story of the town pump, Eric Franklin tells us more...
This month I have extracted an article written by Cyril Diamond for the 11th issue of Strapetona (1984), the Historical Society’s magazine, about the lengthy process of bringing a safe supply of water to Thrapston. Both pictures are from my collection.
Late 19th and early 20th century water supply
Even before the formation of the Parish Council in 1894 the Local Government Board had reported that the entire supply of water for Thrapston consisted of 4 public wells and about 70 private ones, and that
a large proportion of the water was unfit for drinking.
In 1909, Dr Elliott from Oundle analysed water from the town and he concluded that little had changed since the 1894 report, except that the Town Pump on
the Market Place and its well, which had been condemned at that time, had been thoroughly cleaned out and puddled clay put around it at a cost of £45. The pump is shown on 6th September 1922 by which time it had been made unusable. The picture (right) from a similar date shows the pump
in situ.
Discussions on a new supply
In 1914, the Market Place well had a bad report again and the Parish Council and Thrapston Rural Council agreed it was time to have a proper piped supply. Engineers made a survey and found that there was no adequate supply in the parish and so recommended a well to be sunk in the gravels of the Nene Valley.
World War 1 resulted in there being
no further progress until another report
in 1923 which confirmed the need for a new scheme. The Drayton Estate offered a supply from its well which was already supplying piped water to Islip. The Parish Council considered the Islip offer and also a site, in Woodford parish. The Parish
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Council concluded the Woodford site was the more economical and this scheme was put forward to a meeting of ratepayers in the Temperance Hall on 2nd February 1926. The cost of the scheme was £8,400 and it was approved by 75 votes to 6.
Piped water at last
Following objections, on the grounds of cost and an existing plentiful supply of water from springs in the town, a local enquiry was held at the Temperance Hall on 7th July 1926. A preliminary trial was agreed which proved
to be satisfactory, both as regards quantity and quality of water. The scheme was then fully implemented. Supply was estimated at 50,000 gallons per day, pumped into a reservoir at the highest point of Huntingdon Road to serve all parts of the parish. Constructed of reinforced concrete it was roofed over and covered with earth.
This entire saga was reported in the Northampton Mercury on Friday 20th May 1927.
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