Woodingdean Water Well

Woodingdean Water Well
Interactive map of the Woodingdean Water Well area
General information
TypeWell
LocationNuffield Hospital, Woodingdean, England, United Kingdom, Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom
Coordinates50°50′05″N 0°04′55″W / 50.83465°N 0.08182°W / 50.83465; -0.08182
Named forWoodingdean
Construction started
1858
Completed
16 March 1862
Design and construction
Known fordeepest hand-dug well

The Woodingdean Water Well is the deepest hand-dug well in the world, at 390 metres (1,280 ft) deep, lined with some 278,000 bricks.[1]It was dug to provide water for a workhouse.[2][3]

Work on the well started in 1858, and was finished four years later, on 16 March 1862. It is located just outside the Nuffield Hospital in Woodingdean, in Brighton and Hove, England, United Kingdom.[4]

Despite taking four years to construct, the well was only in use for a further four years until the workhouse was connected to the mains supply.[5]

The Woodingdean Water Well has been featured several times in the Itch series, by Simon Mayo, as it is where the protagonist, Itch, dumps the radioactive element 126.[6]

References

  1. ↑
    • Elliott, Emily (29 April 2026). "Victorian well in Sussex is as deep as the Empire State Building is tall". The Argus. Archived from the original on 30 July 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Woodingdean Well". www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk. 2005. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  3. ↑ "Woodingdean in Business". WoodingdeaninBusiness.co.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Deepest hand dug well in the world - Woodingdean Well - Utilities - Places - My Brighton and Hove". www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Elliott, Emily (29 April 2026). "Victorian well in Sussex is as deep as the Empire State Building is tall". The Argus. Archived from the original on 30 July 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Mayo, Simon (2013). Itch Rocks. Random House Children's Books. ISBN 9780857531339. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

50°50′05″N 0°04′55″W / 50.83465°N 0.08182°W / 50.83465; -0.08182