Victorian well in garden?

richardh_1984

We moved into a circa 1900 house which had a brick well in the garden. It's currently filled with soil and flowers so it's unclear if it's decorative or if perhaps there is something more going on underneath. There is also a pipe with a broken tap coming out which doesn't seem to make much sense since you would surely need a pump if it were a well?

Any ideas if it's likely to be more than just decorative? I have pictures but it's not letting me add links to them since I am a new user...

davemorton

To add the links, just break them up a bit, and someone will be able to put them back together.
e.g.
www[dot]bbc.co.uk/news

richardh_1984

Good point thanks! Here are the links:

ibb[dot]co/d4CPae
ibb[dot]co/jFeFgK

that

https://ibb.co/d4CPae
https://ibb.co/jFeFgK

To me it looks ornamental

i'd dig 2 small holes a foot or two down at ground level. one in the well and one and one elsewhere. if the well looks like infill then it could be a well.

If the well is in the middle of the garden, or a more prominent place then it could be just a feature.

if the well dried up, or was a feature, I too may pipe water to it and mount a tap on it.

yes you would need a pump for well or spring water.

if there is well or spring water and you want to consume it, you need to get it tested, doubly so if you live near a fracking site

Doozergirl

Advice above is good.

We have stumbled across many wells that have long since been disused, usually right in the way of the footings of a new extension. We've renovated many more period properties than we have extended.

In not one house has a well ever been built up like that. Either it's a myth that wells looked the way we think, or they've long since crumbled. It's entirely possible that there's a genuine well access beneath it, but that has been built up as a feature and is not Victorian.

It seems to match the brick pathway quite perfectly, too...