Placing the pump

Water was a necessity in every yard and house, in land cultivation and craftsmen's workshops... Before constructing a new house, a well had to be dug to supply water for making the mortar, certainly in remote places. The location of a pump was well thought about, usually not far from the kitchen. Sometimes a pump was installed in or at the side of a building in the form of a small pump house or lean-to. Water pumps only protrude low above the ground (approx. 60-100 cm). There are strong regional differences in wells and pumps. We made a model as shown in the drawing on the right. In areas with shallow water, such as the Meetjesland, short pumps with a fixed handle transverse to the pump rod were found. Elsewhere, a long, pivoting hand crank was used.

video: installing the pump in place

Digging the well

A well for a wooden water pump was dug manually and simultaneously constructed by a well digger, often a bricklayer, sometimes assisted by his apprentices. The well digger had a thorough knowledge of the soil conditions to dig down to the depth where water can be found. The depth as well as the quality and clarity of well water varies from place to place, depending on the composition of the soil.

The pit was made as narrow as possible but had to be at least about 110-120 cm in diameter to be able to maneuver. Digging was done with short-handled tools like pickaxes, spades and shovels. The digger made his way down by digging in a spiral pattern. To lift the heavy soil in buckets, a temporary construction with a windlass was built above the pit. This profession was not without risk. There are many reports of well diggers being buried by soil subsidences. A relatively shallow well for a wooden pump is of course safer to dig than a deep water wells.