Clay field drainage in a field while digging a pond in Somerset. Probably Victorian as this was the era during which many thousands of ac
Clay field drainage in a field while digging a pond in Somerset. Probably Victorian as this was the era during which many thousands of acres of waterlogged fields were 1845 Thomas Scragg invented a machine for extruding drainage pipes (tiles), which brought their price down by about 70 per cent. This machine operated by one man and three boys, who could turn out nearly 11,000 tiles off 1" bore in ten hours. The price of this machine was £25. This began a period of intensive drainage which continued for about half a century, helped by loans from government and private sources. Drain tiles, either cylindrical or oval in section, made of hard burnt clay were almost universally employed for field drainage. When drains are to be excavated by hand, a cord was stretched on the ground to mark the true line of the trench, along which the drainer worked his shovels and ditching spades. The top of the excavation needed not be more than 12 -14 inches wide, and the trench was narrowed to the breadth of the tile at the bottom. Considerable economy could be effected by ploughing out the top layers of soil.
Size: 5568px × 3712px
Location: Frome, Somerset, UK
Photo credit: © Philip Bishop / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: clay, drainage, drained, field, fields, pipe, pipes, somerset, terracotta, tile, tiles, uk, victorian, waterlogged
