BECKET S WELL, DERBY. 5 1 



one on the south & est parte and the land of Thomas Brook- 

 house of the west parte, and the land of Charles Ward of the 

 north pte. . . . ijs." ; and further, in 1592, Robert Brook- 

 house was one of the baihffs of Derby;'' and besides these, in 

 1620, in "A note of landes and tenemets belonging to All 

 Saints'," made by the then churchwardens, is the following 

 " Item, one garden lyinge neare Becketwel lane, in the tenure of 

 Robert Brookhouse and adjoyning to the land of the said Robert 

 Brookhouse yieldeth p. annum, 0.3. 4." 



The land has passed out of possession of the church, and is 

 now held by Lord Scarsdale. The well is town property, and it 

 is in contemplation to build a wall with palisading round it, and 

 to make a proper approach to it ; but this is at present in abey- 

 ance, until the time arrives for widening the lane. Its present 

 condition is far from satisfactory, and it is hoped that a way may 

 be found to complete the work. It is interesting on the ground 

 of antiquity and old associations, besides having fulfilled a useful 

 work in supplying good water to a large district of the town. We 

 may say here that we are far from thinking it a wise thing to fill 

 up and destroy all our old wells ; no adequate reason can be given 

 for so doing. How to supply the steadily accumulating crowds 

 that flock together in towns with water will in no distant days be 

 as nmch a vexatio questio as is what to do with the sewage. 

 This, however, is not a question bearing on our present subject, 

 which is how to preserve some monuments of antiquity for the 

 pleasure and information of those who are to come after us. We 

 again venture to hope that all persons who read these pages will 

 make notes of all names of old wells in the towns and villages 

 of tliis county, so that a record of them may be kept in this 

 Journal for future reference.t 



In conclusion, we are sorry not to be able to arrive at anything 



* " Chron. All Saints," pp. 15, 16, and 205. 



t The following occur to us — St. Alkmund's, Bath Street ; The Pilgrim's 

 Well, Normanton Road, now destroyed ; The Virgin's, Abbey Street ; 

 St. Peter's, near the church, now filled up ; St. Thomas' (? Becket) and St. 

 Anne's, at Repton ; and the Mary Well, AUestree, now a pump. 



