Page 317 - Reading Mercury

nd
Sat 2 June
FIRE BRIGADE
The members of the recently formed Wokingham Fire Brigade had a public drill in
the Market-place on Wednesday evening inst.

1878

rd
Sat 23 March
VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE
On Thursday last the Wokingham Voluntary Fire Brigade met in the grounds of St.
Paul’s Rectory (by permission of the Rev. J.T. Brown) to test their new manual fire
engine recently ordered of Messrs. Merryweather. The engine was purchased at a cost
of £170 including some hose, ladders &c. It is a very powerful one being capable of
throwing 136 gallons of water a minute to a height of 130 feet. It is fitted with a pair
of 7-inch pumps, worked by thirty men and it will carry effectually through a
thousand feet of hose if required. The experiments that were witnessed by a large
number of persons were highly satisfactory.
The Wokingham Voluntary Rifles kept the ground and the band of the corps played
a selection of music at intervals.

st
Sat 1 June 1878
PROPOSED WATERWORKS FOR WOKINGHAM
A meeting was held on Tuesday last at the Town Hall, Wokingham, to consider the
proposed scheme of the Wokingham District Water (Company) Limited, for a supply
of pure water to the town. Alderman J.L. Roberts presided, and there were also
present the Rev. J.T. Brown, the Rev. G de Vitre, Mr. Barford, Mr. W.L. Beale, Mr.
T. Cooke, Mr. William Goodchild, Mr. Weeks, Mr. T.M. Wescott, Mr. R.R.
Briginshaw, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Watts, Mr. Frankum, and others.
A letter was read from the Rector (the Rev. E Sturges) regretting his unavoidable
absence, and other influential residents were prevented attending.
The Chairman having introduced the subject in a few appropriate remarks requested
Mr. J.W. Grover CE, the engineer of the company to explain the nature of the scheme.
Mr. Grover stated that the Company had been duly registered and had obtained the
provisional order of the Board of Trade. The sanction of Parliament to the order was
now being obtained. The town was at present without any water supply, and not only
suffered from the extreme bad quality of the surface water supply, but often had an
insufficient quantity even of this. The proposal was to sink a well to the chalk water-
bearing strata, from which an abundant supply of good water would be obtained. He
estimated the depth of the chalk from the surface in the low ground near the town at
about 350 feet and it would be necessary to sink perhaps 30 feet further into the chalk
when reached. The sinking and pumping station would be in a field acquired by the
Company near the Pin and Bowl Inn, on the Finchampstead road and the reservoir
would be constructed in a field purchased by the Company of Mr. C.T. Murdoch at
Windmill Hill, Binfield. The reservoir would serve the whole district, which includes
Wokingham, Binfield, Warfield, Easthampstead, Finchampstead and Sandhurst. The
calculation of the depth of boring, he said, was made from data afforded by the
sinking at Bearwood and Wellington College and Mr. Grover read a letter upon the
subject from Mr. Whitaker, of the Geological Survey which reported his calculations.

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