1934 Water Mains Laid in Villages

this report is listed in Social Snapshots 1900-1968 inc dated 1934

Also click Water to choose from 10 articles telling the full story.

Hallmark. Harry Floyd Remembers the Coming of Water to Lacey Green. Interview with Rosemary Mortham.

Before the installation of mains water, most houses were supplied with water from tanks, which collected rainwater from the roof. People used a bucket to collect what they needed for use in the house; but in a few houses, such as ‘Hillcrest’ (then owned by Harry's grandfather but now converted to flats in Goodacres Lane), water was hand-pumped to a tank in the loft from where it was piped down to the taps. Other houses had hand pumps either in the kitchen or just outside the back door to supply their needs.

The tanks were usually about ten to fifteen feet deep and about eight to ten feet across. Most were underground with a lid to allow access to the water. One of the seven tanks at Stocken Farm was completely buried – this was unusual as it was necessary to clean out the tanks occasionally.

Throughout most of the summer of 1921 there was a terrible drought. Harry, then a young man of 15, had to drive a horse and cart carrying water barrels to Church’ Farm, Saunderton to collect water from the brook for the animals on Stocken Farm. As each cow drinks about ten gallons a day it was very difficult to keep up with their needs. The council. supplied a small amount of water (about two buckets per day) to each house in the village.

Jumping into these tanks was one way of committing suicide – it was impossible to climb out and, of course, the villagers had had no opportunity to learn to swim.

The only true well in Lacey Green was at Grymsdyke House, which was then owned by the Carters. This was fed by spring water and, it was believed, had to be dug three to four hundred feet deep. The water from this well was pumped by electricity into the house.

Loosley Row Well outside The Foundry was said to be 80 feet deep

Rainwater collection in tanks was used from the beginning of this century. Before then, the only water was from the numerous “dew ponds" around the village. Very few now remain, but the one in Kiln Lane, which was known as ‘Deep Pit' was used for human consumption only, as was the pond situated next to Well Cottage in Church Lane. Such ponds were known as “keech ponds" and were surrounded by a fence to keep animals out. Frank Claydon could remember lime being added to these ponds to ‘purify’ the water which, nevertheless, often contained the odd insect or tadpole which was said to make it more nutritious.

Digging of the water mains began around 1932. Harry can remember digging the trenches to lay the pipes to Stocken Farm and some of the surrounding fields. He was helped by George Maunder, father of Flo, whose husband, Frank Gomme, was landlord of The Black Horse. George had previously worked for Harry's grandfather at Smalldean Farm.

The pipes were laid about two feet six inches deep to avoid freezing. However, in the winter of 1947 the mains froze up. The Black Horse and surrounding properties were without water for weeks on end.

Most of the mains were laid by Irish navvies, one of their foremen, a Mr H. (Harry or Harold) Lloyd lodged with Mr Ronnie Lacey at a house near The Whip. Harry thinks that Main Road was tarmacadamed at that time, although he can remember collecting stones to make up the road when he was young. The stones were flattened out by a steamroller.

The water pipes were made of cast iron and were heavy to handle. The acid nature of the local clay soon caused corrosion, and the village suffered frequent "purst pipes”.

Before mains water, most people did their washing in a copper with a fire beneath. This did not require more than a few buckets of water. George Maunder’s wife used to come every Monday to Stocken Farm to do the washing. Big houses had a separate washroom, or sent their washing out. The Carter's at Grymsdyke employed two washerwomen who lived in Grymsdyke Cottages.

Toilets were mostly outside and relied on a bucket which had to be emptied. Others were no more than a hole in the ground, which had to be cleared out from time to time. The sludge then was put on the garden!

Flush toilets were not installed until after mains water had been laid on. Doris Oliver moved into the village in 1948, and the locals thought it quite strange that she and her husband intended to build an indoor bathroom and toilet at Sunnybank (now White House Farm). At that time, only the largest houses had such luxuries. Stocken Farm had a bedroom converted into a bathroom in 1934.

In spite of this apparent lack of hygiene ‘upset tummies’ were quite rare. Of course the water was soft and free from ‘modern pollutants.’

Research by Joan West

In January 1934 there were drought conditions.   Wycombe Rural District Council was carting 25,000 gallons of water a day all over the area, just for domestic purposes.

By March the council had put forward a £66,000 scheme to supply over 80 square miles and 14,000 village people with fresh water