Water and the Quantocks.

Water has helped shape the Quantocks.

In the past, Quantock people have dug wells to reach pure water, made channels to take water to where they want it and dammed streams to make fishponds, millponds, artificial lakes and reservoirs.

They have used water-power to turn mills and they needed a good water-supply for making cloth, silk and leather.

  • A pond A pond

    Before you can use water you have to get it!

    You can dig a pond to collect water when it rains

  • A spring A spring

    If you wanted really clean pure water you could go to a spring, where the water comes out of the ground.

  • Firefighters Firefighters

    You could move the water to where you want it in a bucket or something bigger.

  • Digging a tank Digging a tank

    You could collect water in a big, underground tank

  • Roadside stream Roadside stream

    You could make the water go where you want it to go by building special channels.

  • Old drainpipes Old drainpipes

    ..Or pipes under the ground

  • Wash basin Wash basin

    Now there are more modern ways of getting running water where you want it.

  • An overgrown mill wheel An overgrown mill wheel

    You could use the power of water to turn water wheels

  • An old flour mill An old flour mill

    ...Which could be used to turn millstones, or driving machinery for spinning and weaving cloth, or for working heavy hammers or bellows.

  • An overgrown mill pond An overgrown mill pond

    Many of the ponds you can still see started off as mill ponds.