Before mains water, local water sources and water management were essential for successful farming and ultimately survival. For example Parwich had an ‘ancient’ water meadow system designed to get grass growing as early as possible in the Spring to feed livestock as early as possible before the Winter feed stores were used up and the beasts had to be slaughtered.
The History Society hopes to undertake an archeology project investigating aspects of water management in our area. At this stage we are gathering what information we can about water usage in our area and also trying to find out what people are most interested in.
Domestic well found at Church Farm
A lot of houses had their own water supply and there was a system of wells and springs serving the community as a whole.
Communal water sources in Parwich, marked with green dots
The communal sources we know about are
- the Village Pump (now the bus shelter)
- Staines trough
- Pump Hill trough (supplied by pump that also took water up to the ‘dew pond’ at the top of the Hall gardens)
- Kiln Lane troughs
- spring below Knob Hall
- step down well at Church Farm (now in Court House garden)
- springs on hillside opposite the Crown Inn, now in the garden of Pool Croft
There may have been other sources used communally such as the covered well behind West View or the step down well by Brook Cottage but we need confirmation of this.
Given mains water arrived here with in living memory, there is potential to gather what information and stories people have, in addition to studying the evidence of remaining features and of old maps.
Nether Green Farm itself has at least two wells, one of which a very unusual design for Derbyshire (so far the only parallels identified are in Cornwall), but also there are seasonal springs that fed the water meadow system and interesting but not yet understood underground water channels and sluices.
Come along on Sunday to perhaps find out where your house used to get its water from, help us map the water sources in Parwich and the surrounding area, share any information you might have, have a look around Nethergreen Farm or even participate in archeological investigations there.
Updated 26/4/19 Come for all or part of the day, 10am to 4pm Sunday 28th April, Nethergreen Farm.
PARWICH.ORG 
Lived at Church Farm and subsequently Court House. Are you sure the well pictured is at Church Farm? There was a well with steps and water always at the bottom step. This looks nothing like it.
The well with steps you mention is still in Court House garden, that was one of the communal village wells. I found a lead pipe running from that well to where there used to be a pump by the kitchen door of Church Farm. I don’t know if the pump was still there or if had already gone when you were here. There are people still about that can remember the Websters using the pump for their water.
However the well pictured was under the drive as it approaches the open garage/cart shed in front of Church Farm. I was cleaning up the gravel in the dive and found a large stone six or so inches under the surface that had an unusual groove at the top (it now looks as if it was one of the uprights used to support a winding rod to haul the bucket up). This stone was at an angle into the ground, and when I dug it up there were other stones. Eventually it turned out to be the top of a filled in fifteen foot deep well.
Judging from bits of pottery at the bottom it was filled in arround 1900. So until I have a cover made strong enough to take the weight of a vehicle it is not possible to get the car to the garage. It may be that this well was filled in when the pump by the kitchen door was installed.
Greetings. How interesting. We bought the property in 1978 and there was evidence of a pump outside the back door. We had two youngsters so made sure the well with the steps (now part of Court House property) was securely covered.
On one of your digs you might find a pet or two lovingly wrapped up and consigned to stout cardboard boxes. They will be in shrouds and with heartfelt letters of remembrance.
I did find a cat wrapped in a shirt in the raised bed by the gate. It was carefully re buried a bit further down the garden.