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Both important to public health, they came late to our area. Alcester was supplied with
water by the Alcester Waterworks Company from 1879, being the 6th town in Warwickshire to
enjoy such a supply; as recently as 1920 the only other area to have piped water was
Studley - this was provided by the East Worcestershire Waterworks Company. Other schemes
were started after the great drought of 1934 , Bidford and Salford Priors being supplied
from a pumping stat ion at Dunnington from 1939 and Great Alne having a small gravity
scheme about the same time. Most of the other villages had to wait until the 1950’s,
when water became available from the Coventry aqueduct.
N.B. OS - U.K. Ordnance Survey (Map Reference)
Water Supply
| Ref. | Location | O.S. | Notes |
| GA 66 | Reservoir, Great Alne | SP 118602 | Small underground reservoir supplied village from 1930’s onwards, supplemented by water from Alcester Waterworks Co; little to see above ground. |
| Ar 71 | Pumping
Station, Arrow |
SP 082567 | Waterwheel (pitch back type) about
5.7m diameter and 0.7m wide still remains on site of Alcester Waterworks Co’s pumping
station (Picture 30K) ;leat which fed wheel can be traced on
bank above.Also on site were a well and borehole (both capped) a gas engine and pumps all
gone. Waterwheel supplied partly by Rock Mill stream coming down from Ridgeway. This was
sup plemented by the waters of Spittle Brook which was dammed near Cold Comfort
Lane;aqueduct led the water to Rock Mill stream. The water for drinking came from springs
in Oversley, also the well on the pumping station site and after 1901 from a borehole. It
was pumped to the storage reservoir on Grunt Hill, then gravitated to Alcester. Water
power proved unequal to the task of pumping and gas engine installed to help drive pumps
in 1902; a product of the Crossley Co., it worked for well over 40 years. Waterwheel still
in use in 1944,if not later. Company taken over by Alcester R.D.C. in 1947. See also Ar 72, 73, 74: K 164; 0 181;.St 258 ;(all this page) |
| Ar 72 |
Storage Pounds, Arrow | SP 082567 | Various dams in valley of Rock Mill stream mostly dilapidated; part of Alcester Waterworks Co’s scheme;water to drive waterwheel,viz 66 above; nothing remains of the dam on Spittle Brook near Cold Comfort Lane. |
| Ar 73 | Resevoir, Arrow | SP 064571 | Large dam which held water in reserve for Arrow pumping station;overgrown and silted up but still visible in Old Park Wood;dam about 5m high on downstream face and 90m long. |
| Ar 74 | Resevoir, Arrow | SP 081567 | On summit of Grunt Hill;in railed enclosure;reservoir embedded in earth mound about 17x17m and 2m high;depth of water about 3.5 m;built to hold supply water pumped up from Arrow pumping station below; gravitated to Alcester; held about 60,000 gallons;constructed 1878 by Alcester Waterworks.Co. |
| Ar 82 | SP 078552 | Oil engine in small pump house;raised water from Ragley lake to Hall as supply. Engine still present though Hall now has mains supply. | |
| C 128 | Coughton Water Supply | SP 070599 | Small spring and reservoir supplying Coughton village;constructed by E.Worcs.Waterworks Company;dating, post 1915. |
| 0 178 | Pump House, Oversley | SP 089557 | Diesel engine powering pump in small brick pumphouse,raises water from settlement tank nearby to Oversley Castle above; replaced hydraulic ram pump;engine by Lister of Dursley. Catchment tank on site of “Our Lady’s Well in mediaeval times (Map in Coughton Court) |
| O 181 | Catchement Tanks, Oversley | SP 085565 | Two railed enclosures in field near Oversley Mill;each contains brickwork tank which held spring water obtained from the superficial gravel deposits;this was tapped by perforated pipes sunk 6 to 8 ft. deep in the ground. Water gravitated to pumping station at Arrow (v.71) through aqueduct (a large pipe) under river, railway and Alcester~Evesham road. Built by Alcester Waterwk.Co.1878 & 1886 and in use supplying part of town’s water until c.1950 |
| K 164 | Pumping Station, Kinwarton | SP 105586 | Brickbuilt pump house about 10x 13 ft and 8 ft.high with hipped,tiled roof. Contains force pump driven by electric motor through V belt and spur reduction gear;motor about 5 h.p. Large air reservoir outside pumphouse smoothed out pulsations;pump positive displacement recipro cating type 4” bore x 12” stroke;pumphouse no longer in use; built by Alcester Waterwk.Co. 1938 to tap Kinwarton spring;contractors G.H.York of Wellington and pump by Joseph Evans,Wolverhampton;taken over by Alcester R.D.C. 1948 but continued in use till 1965;worked by East Worcs.Co. from 1960 when it was sold by R.D.C. to them. Kinwarton spring yields about 70,000 galls./day and this was Alcester’s main water source from 1938 onwards;spring catchment and storage tank underground near the pumphouse. |
| Sal 203 | Pumping Station Salford Priors | SP 073533 | Brickbuilt pumping station standing in small wood to S.of Broom-Dunnington road;houses 2 powerful turbine pumps and shaft-coupled electric motors, all in working order;built by Alcestr R.D.C. - pumped water from borehole, about 25’ in gravel to reservoir by Dunnington village;supplied Bidford and Salford Priors;engineers D & M.Watson, Westminster; sold to East Worcs.Waterworks Co. c.1960 and eventually to Mr.Bomford who farms nearby; still in use for crop irrigation. |
| St 258 | Hydraulic Ram Pump, Studley | SP 094639 | Fed by overgrown channel from stream; part of brickwork in "Utopia" brand blue bricks; ladder down to pit which housed ram, but latter removed; some pipework visible; possibly part of supply to Studley College |
Sewage Works
| A 28 | Old Sewage Works | SP 088568 | Small works, end of Bleachfield Street; 2 rotary filter beds and some dilapidated out buildings. Alcester’s first sewage works opened 1879 although plans prepared 1875; implementation delayed until 1877 by expense involved but diphtheria epidemic in that year forced Rural Sanitary Authority to start the work. Originally sewage disposed of without pumping by spreading on soil; crops were harvested on it and sold at a profit; system did not work well and there were complaints about the smell so it was later overhauled and a gas engine introduced to pump sewage from a sump to the rotary filters. |