Tea-water Pond, Papworth St Agnes

History of the Tea-Water Pond

Dora Tack in Whispering Elms describes the pond. It was very deep, steep sides and surrounded by posts and barbed wire. The natural pond was filled with water from underground springs. It flowed from the pond through a gravel bed into a pipe which emerged through the bank at the side of the ditch where there was a tap.

The pond had been used for generations until the drought of 1944. It was the only source of drinking water but after 1944 it became contaminated.