WATER SUPPLY: GREAT OOLITE SKRIES, 511 
At Witney, wells sunk to depths of 50 or 60 feet, through Cornbrash and 
Forest Marble as the case may be, find water in the upper beds of the Great 
Oolite, the yield being from 500 to 600 gallons per hour. (See p. 319.) 
In Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, the Great Oolite Limestone may 
yield supplies of water ; but large tracts of the country are covered by 
Drift, and percolation is thereby arrested. A boring made at Slony 
Stratford by Messrs. Le Grand and Sutcliff, yielded 60,000 gallons of 
water per day o.10 hours at a depth of 120 feet. (See also pp. 391, 393.) 
At Bedford a well 30 feet deep was carried into the Great Oolite Lime- 
stone, and with headings driven in two directions 150 and 75 feet long. 
About a quarter of a million gallons is pumped daily.* 
The Great Oolite Limestone of Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire is 
not calculated to store any great amount of water, and northwards it 
diminishes in thickness, so that only limited local supplies could be 
expected. 
A spring called the Seven Wells, issues from the Great Oolite Lime- 
stone at Barnwell, south of Oundle ; and the occurrence of powerful springs 
near Stoke Doyle, has been noticed (p. 410.) 
Water was obtained in abundance from the Great Oolite Limestone at 
Helpstone, but the quality was not good (see p. 416.) 
Numerous villages are found along the outcrop of the Oorribrash, 
throughout the country. Supplies of water for domestic purposes may be 
obtained, but no very large amount could be expected. 
Reservoirs and Ornamental Waters.^ 
I know of no large reservoirs on the Lower Oolites, but there are orna- 
mental waters in a number of parks in the area. Of these it will be 
sufficient to mention those in Sherborne Park, Dorset (Fuller's Earth 
Eock and Clay) ; Orchardleigh, north of Frome (Forest Marble) ; L: dge- 
more Pond, south-west of Avening (Fuller's Earth Clay) ; Blenheim 
Lake, Woodstock, covering an area of 250 acres ; also small lakes at 
Glympton, near Woodstock, and at Stowe, near Buckingham (Great 
Oolite) ; at Blatherwycke, near King's Cliffe (Northampton Sand and 
Upper Lias) ; and at Grimsthorpe, north-west of Bourn (Upper Estuarine 
Series). , 
Springs. 
The underground waters, springs, and river-waters of the 
Oolitic districts ordinarily contain from 6 to 30 grains per gallon 
(average about 20 grains) of mineral matter, chiefly carbonate of 
lime, with minor quantities of sulphates of lime and magnesia, 
chloride of sodium, &c. In highly cultivated districts the 
presence of nitrates of lime and soda is noticeable in the surface 
-water?. J The temperature of the springs varies from 45 to 52. 
Holy Wells. 
Some of the more prominent springs have already been mentioned, and it 
is curious to note the number of " Seven Wells " or " Seven Springs " that 
occur. Other springs have, through legendary virtues or associations, 
been designated Holy Wells or named after some Saint. They are gene- 
rally copious and constant. There is a Holy Well S.E. of Biddestone 
and'N. of Cor sham : it issues from the Cornbrash. 
At Holy well Farm, east of Tadmarton Camp, S.W. of Banbury, there is 
a Holy Well known as the Sugar Well. The spring issues from the Inferior 
Oolite, and yields between 200,000 and 300,000 gallons per diem. An 
analysis by Mr. T. Beesley showed 14 grains of mineral matter per imperial 
* Report, Domestic Water Supply, p. 311. 
f See also Report Roy. Comm. on Water Supply, 1893, p. 30; Minutes of 
Evidence, pp. 325, 343 ; and Appendices, pp. 371, 413, 418, 425, 426. 
J See Report, Domestic Water Supply, pp. 50, 80, 96, 118, 291. 
