The Water Tower At Upton Scudamore

Some notes written by Danny Howell during March 1989, which were published in the Warminster And District Archive magazine, No.2, in Spring 1989:

Previous to 1906 the people of Upton Scudamore, between Warminster and Westbury, had to obtain their water from wells, dug in the chalk, ranging at depths between 80 and 100 feet. Some of these wells, according to the season, ran completely dry, and this meant that some villagers had to go to a “dip-well” in the summer months. To relieve this hardship the Rector, the Rev. R. Powley, suggested in 1902 that a permanent water supply be installed. The cost, over £1,000, seemed prohibitive but the Rector won the generous help of Miss M.A. Wheeler, sister-in-law of Dr. Baron, a former rector. Miss Wheeler and her nieces, the Misses Baron, initially gave £500 and a further £150 was donated anonymously by another member of the same family. Miss Wheeler also agreed to loan £400, without interest, repayable over 20 years by annual instalments of £20.

At a Local Government Board Enquiry, held at the Parish Room, Upton Scudamore, in March 1905, it was proposed that ten perches of land beside the highway near Halfway Houses, vested in the churchwardens, be acquired for £1 a year for 50 years. The churchwardens’ plot extended to 2 and a half acres and six perches. The chosen spot, at 447 feet above sea level, was sufficiently exposed to the elements to guarantee something of a breeze even on the calmest day, which was necessary to power a wind engine for pumping the water up from below ground level.

The well had already been sunk by John Wallis Titt & Co., of Warminster, to a depth of 117 feet 6 inches. It was 4 feet in diameter all the way down to the bottom where it widened to 6 feet. This bell shape allowed for extra storage. The first 10 feet of the well was lined with a nine inch brick wall laid with mortar. The base of the well was hard chalk and there were no flints. The water, by analysis, was good and not so hard as that at Trowbridge. The supply was abundant and extremely clear. At the time of the Enquiry there was 15 feet of water at 102 feet below the surface. In July 1903 water had been obtained at 93 feet 2 inches below the surface but had been lost. The well was sunk again and water was found at 98 feet 6 inches. In trial pumping the well yielded 10,000 gallons of water daily, sufficient for 20 gallons per person per day.

The scheme for providing Upton Scudamore with a permanent water supply was completed by March 1906. A John Wallis Titt wind engine, requiring the minimum of attention, was erected just south of the water tower, to raise the water up via a double acting pump to a large cast iron tank on top of the brickwork structure surmounting the well. The chief use of the building was to support the tank but it also housed the meter and the tools required for general maintenance. Two inlet pipes passed through the building, for conveying the water from the well to a cistern and the main to the village. The system was arranged so that water could also be piped direct to the village, bypassing the cistern if needed, which would allow the cleaning of the tank as and when necessary. A ladder descended inside the tank for this purpose, and a box beneath the tank collected any sediment. The tank, which measured 30 feet by 16 feet by 8 feet, held 21,000 gallons. When full, an overflow pipe ensured there was no waste of water, by taking the extra back down into the well. It was stated that a good sou’westerly, blowing the sails of the wind pump, would fill the tank with water “in a day or two”.

A 3 inch water main was laid to the village, at 2 feet 6 inches below the ground. Additional to the drinking water supply, half a dozen hydrants were provided about the village in case of fire and the key to these was kept in the water tower with a stand pipe ready for easy fixing. All the hydrants were made specially to fit the hoses of the Warminster Fire Brigade. If the tank ran dry at an inconvenient time it could be filled without the use of the wind engine because duplicate pumping gear, for working by horsepower, was provided.

On the afternoon of Thursday 26th July 1906 a large number of residents and others gathered at Upton Scudamore to see Miss Wheeler unveil a memorial tablet on the water tower. The new facility was described at the time as “Without doubt one of the best village water supplies in the kingdom – compact, easily and cheaply worked, with a reservoir in a capital position as regards gravitation, and with abundance of excellent water”. Among those present at the “pleasant and memorable ceremony” were the Rev. R. Powley, the Misses Baron, Mr. F. Wheeler, Mrs. Wheeler, Mr. C.F. Pullin, Mr. H. Pullin, Mrs. Pullin, Miss Pullin, Mrs. Pearce, Miss Shaw, Mrs. Daniells, Mrs. Wake, Mrs. Stafford, Mrs. Horne, and Miss Horne. Other dignitaries included Mr. A.J.B. Titt, the contractor; Mr. A. Long, the engineer; Mr. Egerton Strong, who provided the memorial tablet; Mr. T. Ponting, clerk to the Warminster Rural Council; and Mr. G. Pearce, churchwarden and parish representative on the Rural Council.

The houses and streets of the village were decorated with bunting, and the tower itself was decked with flags, in celebration of the event. Following the singing of the Hymn 238, assisted by the choir, the Rev. Powley addressed the assembly. He said “Miss Wheeler, ladies and gentlemen. In the name of the parish I have the very greatest pleasure in welcoming you here today. It is a day that has long been talked of and looked forward to by many of us as the time when you should come once more amongst us to put the crown on the work you have done for us so very kindly and thoroughly, by unveiling this memorial tablet, which will tell us, I think, some of the reasons that have been in your heart for your kindness and generosity, and which is to remind us and future generations of the friends who once lived and worked here, and who, through long years of absence, have never let their love for their old home wax cold. It is now some four and a half years ago since we as a parish felt that something must be done if we were not to have a water famine in Upton Scudamore. We had a series of dry seasons in which our wells fell lower and lower, till at last the crisis was reached when the women of Halfway House were driven to fetch water in pails from Biss to supply their household wants. It is bad enough to have to haul water for your stock, but when you have to put the human beast of burden between two pails, and make her, and it was always her, never him (this particular remark was met with laughter) to bear water up that hill, it becomes too much to endure with patience, and we thought it time to make a change.”

Rev. Powley continued “We brought our case before the Rural District Council, and they did what they could, and took measures to meet our wants. Experts were called in to advise what could best be done. Two schemes seemed possible – one to get water from Biss, the other scheme we now have. We very soon found out that the Biss scheme was altogether too expensive, and beyond our powers. It left us with the present alternative, which we were told would cost £1,100 or £1,200. That was a very large sum to lay upon the rates of a small parish like this, and it gave me many thoughtful hours wondering how it could be done, and whether we should ever get our water supply at Upton. However, I am not one of those who give way all at once. I believe in that little proverb ‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’. Only the other day I heard my reputation in the parish – that I was ‘a very good beggar’ (this made the crowd laugh) with an ‘e’ instead of an ‘a’, you know (more laughter). Well, I take it rather as a compliment. I have done a good deal of begging in my time; not for myself, but other people; and hope I shall go on at it. (This met with the approval of everyone present, who showed their agreement with loud applause). But a good beggar is only a half-way house. You want a good giver on the other side. You want a friend to back you up. So in my anxious desire to carry out what I believe will be one of the greatest benefits possible to the people of this parish I took my courage in both hands and turned to those who have ever been my kindest friends since I succeeded to the work carried out here so long and so generously by Dr. Baron. I wrote to Miss Wheeler, stated our case, and asked, modestly and daringly, if our good friends could help with a loan on easy terms. I need not tell you the whole story. I asked for a loan. The answer to my letter for a loan was the promise of a gift. £400 it was at first, with which I was to dig. I dug – or rather I got our friends here, Mr. Long and Mr. Titt, to dig for me – and we sunk this well, and found at length, thank God, a beautiful spring of fresh, clear water, sufficient, I hope, to supply the needs of this place for many a long year. Four hundred pounds was the sum given at first. It has gradually grown into a gift of £900 and a loan of £400, for the work has cost in round figures from £1,250 to £1,300 (more applause).”

Rev. Powley turned to Miss Wheeler as he continued “Today that work stands practically complete, and its completion is to be marked by the unveiling of this memorial tablet, which will tell us all the reasons for this act of splendid generosity on your part. I need say no more. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you are able to be here today. There are many whom your gift is to benefit to whom you are only a name; today they can say ‘We have seen our unknown friend’. There are stil lsome left who, after twenty-eight years, can remember you, for you have never let yourselves be forgotten. They, I am sure, share with me the satisfaction of feeling you are here among us to see your good work brought to an end. Now I will ask you, Miss Wheeler, to kindly unveil this memorial tablet that your friends of today and of future generations may read why ‘our ladies’ have helped us as they have.”

At the conclusion of Rev. Powley’s speech there was loud applause and Miss Wheeler unveiled the tablet. It featured the following inscription: “ ‘Whosover drinketh of this water shall thirst again’. To the glory of God and in memory of the Rev. John Baron, D.D., formerly Rector of this parish, and Sophia Mary, his wife, this water supply has been provided by their sister, M.A. Wheeler, and their daughters, for the perpetual use and benefit of the parishioners of Upton Scudamore. ‘Oh ye Wells, bless ye the Lord.’ July. A.D. 1906.”

After the unveiling, the John Wallis Titt wind engine was started and the stiff breeze got it spinning merrily round immediately. Mr. Henry Ernest Till, the Westbury based photographer captured the scene on a picture postcard for posterity. Miss Wheeler then thanked everyone for the reception they had accorded to her. Mr. F. Pullin (churchwarden) proposed a vote of thanks and was seconded by Mr. G. Pearce, who noted that Miss Wheeler had no financial interest in Upton Scudamore – but acted out of love. Mr. Pearce said he would have liked to have seen some of the village landlords present, after all Miss Wheeler’s gift would be in their hands as long as it remained. Rev. Powley added that the vote of thanks to Miss Wheeler included the Misses Baron; as they were always thought of together. Everyone retired to the Rectory lawn for a splendid tea provided by Mr. W.H. Payne of George Street, Warminster.

The brick tower, with its cast iron water tank aloft (complete with the name of John Wallis Tit & Co., the Warminster agricultural implement makers, ironfounders and water engineers, on its west side) remained as a prominent landmark on the brow of the Upton Scudamore ridge until two years ago (the wind pump had ceased to exist long before). After several years of disuse by the Wessex Water Authority the tower and the land it stood on was sold by auction in July 1987 by estate agents Cooper & Tanner of Market Place, Warminster. The auction room was packed and following keen bidding the gavel fell at £48,000. The price, at the time, was believed to be the highest ever paid for a single building plot in the Warminster and Westbury district. The buyer, an Essex businessman, immediately made known his plans to demolish the tower and build a single-storey house on the site. Upton Scudamore’s parish clerk, Dick Batson, confirmed the parish council had no objections in principle to the proposed demolition.

The tower was knocked down in September 1987 by Oakferry Ltd (the demolition and building materials reclamation company then based at Sutton Veny but now operating from Warminster) but it didn’t give up its stand without a struggle. The five-man demolition team, with the help of a JCB excavator, gave their undivided attention and effort to the brickwork for some considerable time before attaching a steel hawser to a corner of the 30 feet high edifice. Despite the might and pulling power of the mechanical digger, the bricks and mortar refused to give way. Mr. Mike Farey, managing director of Oakferry, said “At first we thought the walls were hollow but they are solid all the way round, and some 18 inches thick.” Four hours later, after physically pounding and breaking the sides with sledgehammers and crowbars, the demolishers were left with just one brick holding up the structure. Its removal prompted the grand collapse in a cloud of dust and debris. A small group of villagers braved the pouring rain to watch the demise of the old landmark. Some commented “You could see it for miles around and it served as a marker of where we live. Mind you, it wasn’t very pretty as buildings go.”

The site of the old water tower, next to the unclassified road between the heart of Upton Scudamore and the Warminster-Westbury Road (A350), is now occupied by “two executive family homes” built by G.H. and S.J. Ellis, the Westbury builders and contractors. At the time of this issue of Archive going to print, the more northerly of the two houses, plot No.2, has already been sold. Plot No.1, currently nearing completion, is for sale at £189,995. Agents Cooper & Tanner of Warminster describe the property as “This detached house, being one of two erected on a prime site on the edge of this sought after village, has mellow red brick elevations under a tiled roof.” The ground floor comprises an entrance porch, entrance hall, cloakroom, study/bedroom, lounge, dining room, kitchen and utility room. The first floor, built into the roof area, features landing, master bedroom with en-suite shower room, tw other bedrooms, and bathroom. A detached double garage is of matching brick under a pitched tiled roof.