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THE WATER TOWER
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The Water Tower at Downfields as it stands today |
The Water Pump at Station Road formerly known as Pump Lane, Circa 1900 |
Downfields,
Soham, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5
The
Water Tower is one of the first buildings you come across as you approach Soham
from Newmarket. It is a large impressive brick water-tower with machicolations and elaborate roof.
It has a very Victorian feel in architecture and brickwork, circa
early 20th Century.
Until 1923 Soham residents had to draw their water from private wells, pumps, or
the rivers and ditches. 19th records report that sanitary conditions in Soham
were very poor and raw untreated sewage was often discarded into the local
rivers & ditches from which residents often caught diseases.
The Waterworks were installed in 1923 and then water and sewer pipes were laid
throughout the town soon after during the
early 1930's. The pictures below show the High Street before and after the pipes
were laid and as you can see from amount of cars on the road, traffic was not
really affected by the digging of the road at this time.
Digging the High Street to lay the water & sewer pipes circa early 1930's |
The High Street after laying the water & sewer pipes circa early 1930's |
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