The drawing shows the layout of the well and cistern. The upper part of the shaft was stone-lined presumably to originally prevent soil and street-waste from contaminating the water. It is conjectured that the well existed prior to the construction of the buildings in New Brown Street and may have been in the open air. In the stone work are corresponding holes that supported cross members that worked like a step-ladder allowing the excavators to reach the rock area. This form of shaft-working was common in lead mines and in the shallow coal pits north of Manchester.
The actual chamber was cut out of the porous soft red Triassic sandstone common in Manchester.
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Keywords:WEA, bbc radio manchester, cannon street, chambers, cisterns, exploration, ken howarth, lancashire, manchester underground, new brown street, sandstone, shafts, water supplies, wells, wishing well