Posted by Alan Free on 8/8/2009, 9:35 am
I wonder how many people know that the village has a well. It is situated in Walters Road a few yards up the hill from the old Church Hall. It backs on to the vicarage field; it has high railings with a gate entrance which is kept chained and locked. The pump, rusty and with a broken spout, used to lean against the field wall and brambles filled the interior of the railings. There is an oak tree and an ash tree growing together just a few feet from the well. 20 years ago these were only a few feet high but now they tower over the well.
About 12 years ago the Llangadog Womens Institute asked the Community Council if something could be done to open up the well and make it operational again. I believe the County Council was approached, but a grant was not forthcoming. The well site was cleared of all growth and the well opened up. The water in the well was clear and found to be 17 feet deep, with the water surface about 6 feet beneath ground level. There were a few roots growing into the water, presumably from the trees, but at that time they were quite small. The railings were painted, and the pump was bolted to the floor inside the railings. The Community Council agreed that I could decorate it with flowers growing in pots and keep the rest of the growth down. This I did for about 10 years, but as the trees grew bigger they cut out most of the light from the well. Two years ago I stopped trying to grow anything inside the well.
Weeds are growing quite well, as are young ash trees. Within a few years they will start to catch up with the parent tree. The roots will certainly be growing into the well itself as they look for water, and I have little doubt that the roots from the two big trees are already there. The elder tree by the entrance is now bigger and is fruiting well, and the brambles are starting to take over again.
I did wonder whether I would be allowed to take over the well - I would love to see it in working order again, but I understand that the well is classed as a "Village Asset"... The two trees are not the responsibility of the Community Council and approaches have to be made to the County Council for more information.
A lot of people walk their dogs along Walters Road, and if the pump became operational again they could have a supply of drinking water, which of course could also be used for the horses that occasionally use the road.
Alan Free, Brynteg.
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