A Short History
The Water
The Spring Wells are natural artesian springs and if you look closely you will see the water bubbling up from the rocks deep below. The springs are fed by the Lincolnshire Limestone Acquifer, with rain falling on the uplands near Grantham flowing eastwards along the dipping limestone strata and being forced up under pressure here. The water is slightly warm and seldom freezes. The water no doubt attracted early settlers and there is evidence of Iron Age and Roman settlement nearby.
The water is “chalybeate”, meaning it contains iron salts, and as such would have been highly valued by the Victorians for health giving. The cisterns where the Victorians drew their water by hand can still be seen on either side.
The springs have only dried up twice in living memory – in 1967 and in 2011 when the water did not reappear for 6 months.
The Wildlife
The water and its island are home to a population of mixed domestic and wild ducks and fowl. These change from year to year but you are likely to see :
Indian Running Ducks (domestic)
White Pekin ducks (domestic)
Pochard Ferruginous Hybrid duck (wild)
Moorhens (wild)
When the pond dried up in 2011 there was also a large number of rare eels found