Ketteringham Well on the Triangle

Summary

A wellhouse thought to have been designed by Thomas Jeckyll around 1847 to serve the estate village of Ketteringham.

Reasons for Designation

The Well on the Triangle in Ketteringham is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest
* As an example of Gothic architecture being applied to a village well;
* As an early example of work by Thomas Jeckyll, an architect whose work is elsewhere featured on the NHLE (later examples include Holt’s Grade II listed United Methodist Free Church).

Historical interest
* Through its function as a water source, offering an insight into the lives of villagers in the C19 and early-C20.

History

Wells were commonplace in the past, and their architectural treatment at the surface, the well-head or well-house, varied from the rudimentary to the elaborate depending on their context. By the C18, water was typically pumped up, rather than drawn via a bucket, and well heads gave way to communal water pumps in the wake of urban expansion. While in urban areas piped water was increasingly available from the mid-C19, many villages depended on pump water until well into the C20.

The Well on the Triangle is part of the estate village of Ketteringham, which was developed after Sir John Boileau acquired the estate in 1837. Architect Thomas Allason refurbished Ketteringham Hall and built the Grade II listed Ketteringham Icehouse in 1842, laying the foundation for the village's architecture. Around 1847, a young Thomas Jeckyll (1827-1881) received one of his first commissions from Sir John Boileau to design and install a new well in brick with a tile roof and finial. The well, which was built by contractor Woodbine for £3.12s.0d, aligned with the vision of creating a model farm and is an example of Jeckyll’s early work as a Gothic Revival architect. The wellhouse appears on the 1905 Ordnance Survey (25") map. Since around 1990, conservative repair works have been undertaken by local builders, including Jack Chapman and Gills of Norwich.
The Well on the Triangle is understood to be one of three (of very similar design) built in the village of Ketteringham. The others are in private ownership one at Wellgate Cottage (Listed at Grade II 1170223) the other at Church Cottage (Listed at Grade II 1169996).

Details

MATERIALS: brick (Norfolk red cant).

PLAN: Square base with octagonal wellhouse above.

EXTERIOR: A red brick octagonal wellhouse atop a square base. On the roof there are clay tiles with cement batons at each change of angle and a soffit beneath. The north face features a black iron handle used to raise water from the well. The east face includes a painted timber 4-plank door with decorative hinges providing access to an internal mechanism. The doorframe is a painted timber surround which extends at intervals. The base is square with broached molded brick corners. The western face features a blank space where a plaque would have been.

Sources

Books and journals
Sharpe, Robert, Ketteringham: a Norfolk Country Estate (2023),
Weber Soros, Susan, Arbuthnott, Catherine, Thomas Jeckyll: Architect and Designer 1827-1881 (2003),

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