Geology Site Account

Site name: Saffron Walden Waterworks Well

Grid reference: TL 5384 3840

Brief description of site:

Site of a deep borehole in 1836 which is reputed to have penetrated the hard, ancient rocks deep beneath Essex known as the 'Palaeozoic basement'. This is by far the oldest deep well in Essex (over 1,000 feet).

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Details

In 1836, Jabez Gibson initiated and funded the drilling of a well to obtain an adequate water supply for the town. The well was situated at the waterworks in Hill Street in the centre of the town. It terminated at a depth of 306 metres (1,004 feet) and is reputed to have reached the Palaeozoic basement of Essex. However, the evidence for this, and the suggestion that the well encountered Jurassic rocks beneath Saffron Walden is uncertain.

Well boring was long, arduous and often dangerous work. The operator of the Saffron Walden boring was Samuel Purkiss of Little Baddow, who had been responsible for other deep wells in Essex. The foreman, John Bell, is described as 'never, during the long period of ten months quitted the experiment for a single hour'.

The well is also known as the Saffron Walden Fire Station Well as the fire station now occupies the site. The well still exists and was photographed in March 2024 with the permission of the Fire Station manager.

Saffron Walden Waterworks (Fire Station) Well (Photo: G. Lucy)