Stanmer Water Catch

Model of water catch
Water catch close up
photo by Sue Craig

From a letter received from my nephew. Mr. Frank Jones, I gathered that our Archaeological Society recently visited Stanmer to see the water-catch, etc., and that they were greatly interested in it, one member saying he had not seen any similar water supply either in England or on the continent.

Stanmer and Falmer, both on the Downs, were formerly dependent on rain water supply.

Stanmer had two deep wells. Falmer only one. The wells at Stanmer were constantly used, the one near the mansion was supplied with a powerful engine pump, worked by a horse walking in a circle round the interior of the well- house; a long oaken lever was fixed to the horse’s collar, and in time the monotonous walk was continued for days with little attention from Tom Carter, the attendant. The other Stanmer well, adjoining the churchyard, was the villagers’ supply. Two large buckets, with a strong chain over a spiked wheel, were worked by a large, heavy oaken wheel. At first it was worked by a donkey walking inside, but by some means the donkey’s leg got broken. The donkey was never replaced, the villagers having to draw the water by treading the wheel round themselves. The 3rd Earl of Chichester’s great hobby was the improvement of agriculture, especially by machinery, supplemented by the improvement of the farm labourer and his dwelling. Sanitation, good cottages and gardens and the labourer’s education were always in his thoughts. This being so, the water supply of both villages was constantly cropping up, and became a source of anxiety to the writer’s father, Mr. Thomas Jones, the Earl’s agent.

To obviate so much pumping at the mansion well, Mr. Thomas Jones suggested the ” water- catch ” in the highest ground of Farm Lane field, this land being level with the top of his lordship’s mansion.

His lordship, seeing the immense advantage, strongly supported the proposal. For a long while it was known as “Jones’ Folly,” until its practical utility became obvious. At first my father had many difficulties to contend with. His first scheme consisted of a foundation of broken flint (similar to a macadamised road) covered in with a thin coating of cement. As this was laid in strips, to prevent cracking by changes of temperature, there was a leakage which could not be cured. The water-catch was made about 1870, just before the death of Mr. Thomas Jones in the summer of 1876. His lordship and Mr. Jones decided to roof it over with slate, a step which overcame the leakage. The tanks were under ground, and were of considerable capacity. The water ran by gravitation to the cisterns of the w.c.’s, etc., at the top of the mansion roof. Of course it was well ” cocked” to prevent any mishap in the shape of an overwhelming flood.

This clear, uncontaminated rain-water supplied the gardens, the laundries, the stables, etc., for many years, and still is in partial use. The writer remembers working out and assisting his father in many of the problems arising out of its construction. Mr. Tom Jones, “the faithful servant and friend.” as the 3rd Earl recorded on his tombstone, usually went to his lordship’s study after dinner every evening, when these various problems were discussed and sanctioned. When a lad, the writer was sent to the Brighton School of Art to learn ” plan-drawing.” One summer the water supply at Falmer became an acute problem, the pond being nearly dry. His lordship decided to’ make a gigantic tank (200,000 gallons) at the head of Falmer pond, in front of the school. The pond was surveyed by the writer, the cubical contents of the water at an average depth of rainfall estimated, and the allowance of 60 gallons of filtered water to each cottage in the village was the basis on which the scheme was worked. My plan of the tank still hangs in the Estate Office at Stanmer. This arrangement worked successfully till the village was supplied by Brighton Water-works.

The writer, when a boy, well remembers when he and an elder lad worked the big wheel round to illustrate its action to some Brighton visitors who, becoming tired of waiting for the upcoming barrel from its deep, deep pit, told the two to let it down again. The two tried to do as told, but the descending heavy bucket gradually overpowered them until they were whirled round and round the inside of the wheel until the ascending bucket (the empty one) caught the iron stav and frame. They crawled out covered with bruises and—as considerable damage had been done to the bucket—a still tongue.-Frederick Jones  (East Hoathly).

No Comments

Start the ball rolling by posting a comment on this page!

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.