Norwich (click on photograph to bring up bigger/better version).

A very rare wooden pump with a cast iron handle and spout tucked away in Websdale's Court, a tiny alleyway off Bedford St., Norwich. Thanks to John Hurst for the photo on the left. There has been some discussion as to whether it's a wooden pump or a wood-cased cast iron one. A photo from 1964 shows the wood in a pristine state, so it's possible that it was renovated at that time. Markings: "No 10 22X12" on the spout. Manufacturer: Unk.

Click here to see pic I've taken from www.geograph. org.uk's site.

Click here to see pic I've taken from www.geograph. org.uk's site.

In a quiet courtyard off Elm Hill, Norwich. Markings: What looks like "SLIM" on both sides of the handle, up by the fulcrum. Manufacturer: Unk.

	A hefty pump - about 7' high and with an 8" external diameter barrel - situated at the bottom of the graveyard at St. John Maddermarket, Norwich. (The point has been made by others that downstream of a graveyard might not have been the optimum location to pump untainted water, but let's hope that it had a very deep borehole.) Closer inspection of the spout shows a small hole just behind the bucket hook: it has been reported that in at least one case such a hole was provided to allow a stream of water to flow upwards to form a drinking fountain. John Hurst re-visited the location in 2014 and found that the pump has been damaged - see bottom right - a chunk has been lost from the spout. Markings: "SHALDERS PATENT NORWICH", "POWERLINE" and "[?] INCH BARREL" Manufacturer: Shalders.

	This superb edifice is tucked away behind a wall and obscure alleyway backing onto Westwick St., Norwich. It's known variously either as Gibson's or Gybson's Conduit or Pump, and also as St. Lawrence's Well, and has an interesting history. It's not in its original position, and has lost all its mechanical components with the exception of an iron handle - and even this is not in its original position with respect to the rest of the structure. So was it a pump, a fountain, or simply a flamboyant tap? Maybe all three at different stages of its life, but an old photograph shows the handle high up to the right, protected by a metal "guard rail", and well out of reach of any casual user - which suggests to me that it simply operated a valve/stopcock. If it was indeed a pump, then it might just be the oldest dated pump in the UK, and for this reason alone it deserved to be restored. In 2011, Gybson’s Conduit (owned by the Norwich Preservation Trust) underwent a magnificent restoration by Universal Stone Ltd., (see lower right) and won a 2011 Norwich Society Design Award for the conservation work. Well done, Norwich. Three panels set in the stonework contain verses of dedication, as follows, although some letters were obscured and difficult to decipher at the time:
	THIS WATER HERE CAUGHT IN SORTE AS YOWE SEE FROM A SPRING IS BROUGHTE THRE-SKORE FOOT AND THRE GYBSON HATH IT SOWGHTE FROM SAINT LAWREN'S WEL, AND HIS CHARG THIS WROWGHTE WHO NOW HERE DOE DWEL THY EASE WAS HIS COSTE, NOT SMAL VOUCHSAFIED WEL OF THOSE, WHICH THANKFVL BE HIS WORK TO SE AND THERE TO BE NO FOES.
	A smaller panel to the left is now blank, but in an old photo it can be seen to have had the letters ROB ERT and a sun motif, whilst another on the right still shows the letters GYB SON and the same sun motif - possibly a rebus? A small carved shield contains the date 1578.
	Set above is a coat of arms, carved in stone and painted, which I think are those of Elizabeth I, flanked by two badges carved in stone - a rose and a crowned chained portcullis - both of which surely must represent the House of Tudor. The faint words "VIVAT REGINA" can still be made out, painted on the background.

At the front of a row of coach houses in Ferry Lane, within the Cathedral grounds in Norwich. The cap, handle and operating rod are all missing, and a hook has been fixed to the pump fulcrum to hold back the nearby coach house door. Markings: "J. TYLOR & SONS, 2 NEWGATE STREET, LONDON EC" Manufacturer: J. Tylor, London.

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