Recently, over a pint in The Haunch of Venison pub, I was shown an old newspaper cutting covering the subject of Hussey’s Hatch and the bringing of water into the city when it was built.

The article mentioned a man named Roger Brown, who had a keen interest in fire engines.

He was also known to have an original copy of the Salisbury Fire Brigade handbook published in 1913.

This he came across when going through the contents of a shop in Salt Lane right opposite the old fire station.

No doubt this was after Frank Harfitt, who owned the shop died. He had been an invaluable member of the old Volunteer Brigade which is how he came to get the handbook.

The station officer and resident engineer was F Miggins (the subject of our photograph), and he and section officer FE Hale compiled it.

According to the old Salisbury Journal cutting the 1913 handbook sets out the manholes to Hussey’s stream and states that: “This stream runs from the river close to Hussey’s Hatch almshouses in Castle Street, through the town to the Friary where it flows into the river again.”

There were manhole covers opposite Hussey’s almshouses in Castle Street, at the corners of Bedwin and Rollestone Street, Salt Lane, Brown Street and Winchester Street and Milford Street, in a gutter at the corner opposite the Queen’s Arms in Brown Street, opposite the Belle Vue entrance in the centre of the road at the Corporation depot gates and 50ft from the Friary recreation ground gate.

What is intriguing is that Hussey’s Hatch was kept locked, and when there was a fire a man would be sent with a key to lift the sluice gate for the water to flood the hatch right down to the Friary.

 

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