The Priest's House Museum & Garden, 23-27 High Street, Wimborne Minster, Dorset BH21 1HR
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Roman force pump

During the excavation of the well in the south-east part of the Tarrant Hinton villa courtyard, parts of a wooden force pump were recovered.

The well is thought to have been in use throughout the Romano-British period, from the 2nd century until the later 4th century, supplying water not only to the bath house but also to the residential range of the developed courtyard villa. The well was 26.5 metres deep. The likely function of the pump would have been to raise water from the well into some form of tank at the surface, from which it could be distributed around the villa. Also recovered was a long iron bucket chain and parts of the iron fittings from more than one wooden stave bucket, indicating that the pump was not the only means of drawing water from the well.

Pumps of this type are not unknown in the Roman world though only one other is known in Britain, recovered from the well at Silchester. The pump from Tarrant Hinton matches the design of these other pumps and its presence on this rural villa site is an indication of the status and wealth of its owner.

The pump is likely to have been fixed in the base of the well, below water level, but what arrangement of rods may have been used to operate the two pistons is a matter of speculation.