Anyone found a well on their land and how did you do it?

Melanie1972

The house we are buying has a well on our land, suspect it's under the foundations of the old greenhouse (flagstones).  Without digging up the whole of the foundations has anyone ever found a well on their land by more traditional methods e.g. water divining or have tips on tell tale signs to look for to indicate where it might be?

Doozergirl

I've had Severn Trent water at my house divining to find the water main route, so it does work! 

FreeBear

I know of a couple of people that discovered wells. One was digging some foundations for an extension as I recall, and uncovered it by chance. Another was inside a historic building, and the owners had need to lift floorboards in their (I think) kitchen.

You could use ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity survey to try and identify an anomaly that could be a well. No idea how much it would cost, probably not cheap though. I have used a long steel rod to locate an underground drainage pipe - I had the advantage of knowing its approximate location, and the soil is relatively soft. Not going to work if you have flagstones though.

cymruchris

My parents found a well in the back garden - but can't remember how they found it. It's a permanent decorative feature now, opened up with brickwork above ground level. It's grated off so nobody can fall down it, but nice to see the level rise and fall with the water table.

Eldi_Dos

If the well has been capped and not filled in this may help.

Get a stout piece of timber, a fence post would do, and bang it against the flagstones, working in a grid pattern listen for any change of sound.
This method works when trying to find manholes that have been covered up.

ThisIsWeird

Doozergirl said:

I've had Severn Trent water at my house divining to find the water main route, so it does work! 

Cough.....

stuart45

I found one under a manhole cover just outside the house before we moved, thinking it was the drains. My wife got me to build it up like a wishing well. It's really deep, so I fixed some mesh in there to stop the grandkids falling down. 
A friend of mine built a well in his back garden by building a ring of brickwork, and then digging under them and letting them drop and then repeating the process.

Sarahspangles

It’s a shame they’re not making Time Team any more.

Dowsing works (annoyingly) as does asking the oldest neighbour.

ThisIsWeird

Sarahspangles said:

Dowsing works (annoyingly) 

Double cough...

Ectophile

Sarahspangles said:

It’s a shame they’re not making Time Team any more.

They are.  But it's only on YouTube now.

Cherryfudge

Google 'where to find old maps of your area' - or ask around for a local historian.