Until the early 1960s the village had no sewers or drains. Houses either had underground cess pits into which drains emptied or very good rhubarb! As can be imagined the task of installing main drainage across the whole village and connecting to the new sewerage works between Willingham and Over was a big one and very disruptive. In this photo we see the work in progress on Berrycroft. This area was difficult as there is an underground river than runs north through the village between High St and Long Lane. If you dig 1m down in this area you find pure yellow sand. The workers had to drill vertical holes with drains along the path of the trench and then pump the water out while they dug and installed the sewer.
October 2024
