Bungay – Bungay Well

This is the town well in Bungay, which was used from Roman times until 1923 to get fresh water. It was possible until recently to get the key to go and have a closer look in, but I expect someone fell in or something as it’s guided tours only now. I’m sold on the story that this has been in use for hundreds of years, with Romans getting water before their big chicken supper (I’m not entirely sure what Romans ate, but I’m sure they ate chickens). When the well was drained there was some Roman pottery found in it to help the dating process.

I’ve marked the location with a little crosshair thing, although I accept that this is akin to something out of Puzzler magazine to see it (it’s near to where the arrow pointing to the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is).

Clicking the above image makes it more readable…. In short, there was a new brick surround added in the Tudor period and repairs have been the responsibility of the Town Reeve (a Saxon word for magistrate). A lovely shiny new pump was placed in the market place in 1812, but it wasn’t until 1923 that a new pumping station at Outney Common saw this well become redundant.