Facts

This Page is for some odd and interesting facts

The bricks used in wells are not always curved bricks they are actually mainly all normal sized rectangle bricks put on an angle on top of each other.

Some recent 20th century wells used fired curved bricks, this period was between 1950 and 1970.

Most of the bricks in a well are not mortared together and are simply placed on top of each other.

The top 1-2 meters of bricks of a well are sometimes mortared to stop surface water run-off which can contaminate the water.

Water in a well has usually taken over 2 weeks to reach the bottom, filtered through the local geology.

There is no official records of hand dug wells.

Lead pipes in the wells stretched over time and had to be replaced.

The tops of wells were not usually what we think of traditional. They were simple man hole covers apart from Holy wells which were extravagant.

Filling a well with dirt, debris and rubbish will not stop the water being in the well.

The average well is 17 bricks round per layer of bricks, There is 16 layers of bricks per meter. That is 272 bricks per meter. A cost of £250 (in today’s money) per meter just for bricks.