Discussions between South Eastern Water, Southern Water, The National Trust and West Sussex County Council have lead to a proposal to implement a villager’s idea that the water supply system emanating at the Ram House by the Shepherd & Dog could be reinstated.
The advantages of this would be free drinking water available to villagers and passersby at both village pumps, availability of fresh water for washing at the Ruskin Fountain and a supply of water in the village in times of drought.
The disadvantages for some would be the permanent disconnection of the current water supply to all properties in the Street. This would, of course, mean that water for household, garden and indeed swimming pool use would have to be obtained by hand. Admittedly this would prove to be an anathema to some villagers although in some cases the gardener could provide the necessary manual labour involved.
It is proposed to hold a public meeting and take a vote of those attending in which case a majority of villagers would decide the outcome of the proposal.
Responses ..
If I were a villager and my dwelling in the depths of the country, I should hope to find means of making a fountain for the provision of my family.
Great news. Good luck. The
attached is historical and mostly background, except for pages 13-16. But parts may be of use to anyone. Especially if there’s to be any fundraising. The (British Library) volume cited on page 5 (excerpt copied above) is what started it, because it inspired Henry Willett, who got his young daughter to translate the book out of medieval French. The whole project, of course, being eventually dedicated to his friend Ruskin. There are a lot of accompanying letters and schematics, mostly from local sources, which are likely of no import to a contemporary project.
Paul Wayne
Stammers Hill
An excellent plan. Fully consistent with our own proposals for local hydrology.
Lee Newlyn
Medieval Market Towns Limited
I write in reply to Mr Rowland’s latest missive; I would also like to pick up also on Mr Wayne’s point about possible fundraising. What was not mentioned in the archive material were some unusual findings from the original pioneers of the water system (Ruskin et al.).
To test the water’s fitness for human consumption, samples were sent to the chemistry department of Imperial College London. Using the rapidly developing analytical techniques of Victorian scientists, it was discovered that as well as having a high calcium content (quite normal for this part of the country) the water from the spring contains a particularly high concentration of certain rare earth metals and other minerals. The chemist given the job of analysing the water was Professor Pirmasis Balandis, a visiting lecturer from Lithuania, and a cousin of Marie Curie. In an extract of his findings, lodged in Imperial College’s library, Prof Balandis wrote the following “It would seem that the hamlet of Fulking has access to water of a most beneficial nature. Almost every trace element needed by the human body is present: iron, iodine, fluoride, copper, zinc, chromium, selenium, manganese and molybdenum, which it would appear are needed in a balanced diet for maintaining health.”
Although the full significance of these elements was only just being explored in the 19th century, doctors now know that insufficient intake of trace minerals can cause symptoms of nutritional deficiency. In Ruskin’s day, the village was inhabited mostly by labourers, and as such little interest was shown in Prof Balandis’ discovery. Nowadays, one cannot move for health professionals, lawyers, marketing experts, accountants and so on who make up the majority of the local residents, whom I suspect would leap at the chance of making full use of our unique water source. It occurs to me that as well as reinstating the village water supply, we should consider installing a bottling plant alongside the original Ram House. A premium could be charged for such a precious commodity (suggested brand name: Fulking Aqua Vitae), the funds thus raised being used to offset the cost of the whole project. In order to do this, there may be a need for rationing of the supply in order to balance the personal needs of the residents with the need to provide a revenue stream to pay for the initial project costs, although this would hopefully only be for a few years.
Please could interested parties bring their suggestions for the marketing of the spring water to the public meeting that Mr Rowland proposes.
Michael Trist
The Perch
(A) I now know what’s happening at the junction of Edburton Road and The Street, and thus the huge excavations.
(B) Richard Dimbleby’s spaghetti harvest is very early this year! I suggest we wash our spaghetti (after removing it from the trees) before cooking.
Richard Corner
Fulking House
I have read Mr Trist’s knowledgeable response and would like to elaborate on the discussion.
Prof Pirmasis Balandis was an associate of John Ruskin and, although I can find no reference to it in Mr A R Brook’s comprehensive history of Fulking, they were known to have made music together. The duo, also known locally as ‘Ruskers Buskers’ would perform at the Shepherd & Dog (then known as the Shipyard and Bog due to its close proximity to Shoreham), Balandis with his authentic Romanian accordian and Ruskin on the Transylvanian nose flute. This latter was a musical delight due to the size of Ruskin’s nose. Many a happy hour was spent the popular public house listening to the duo. The landlady at the time was endowed with enormous breasts which were referred to by the villagers as Mangold Wurtzels and she would hurl both of them over her shoulders to a cry of ‘God Save the King’!
Not particularly relevant but nonetheless parochial history.
Bob Rowland
