Wellhead, Biddestone

Image: © Maigheach-gheal Taken: 30 Jun 2010

This wellhead is one of four in the area of similar design. They were erected by William Henry Poynder who had inherited nearby Hartham Park from his father Thomas Henry Poynder after he had purchased the property from the Methuens in the 1850s. The wellhead is thought to be of the late 19th or early 20th century in date and is built on six stout oak posts with a conical roof and a wooden finial. It shelters the village pump and some beautiful red geraniums. A K6 type telephone box stands to the side. In 1935, the Post Office commissioned a new kiosk from Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to celebrate the Jubilee of King George V. The K6 Jubilee Kiosk, as it is known, was similar to the K2 box, being made of cast iron and painted red but was 25% lighter in weight. By the end of the 1930s there were 20,000 K6 telephone boxes in use all over the UK.

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