The following extracts were related by the creator of the Folly at Goring-by-Sea during the Summer of 1999.

    Digging the Well.

     'It was early in March and I was some 4 metres below ground level up to my knees in mud and water. The only way to dig the clay out was by dipping into the cold water and clawing it out by hand. I was covered from head to foot in slippery mud and it was difficult to get out of the hole. I had to haul myself out by wedging my feet either side of the hole. Sometimes I failed and slid back into the icy water. My boots sank into the mud and occasionally stuck in the clay as the water rose alarmingly quickly and I had to slip out of them to free myself...always there was the added danger of some sort of a collapse or cave in. The sun had gone down and I knew I was getting colder, but I was determined to finish...I finished as my wife arrived home and by then I was uncontrollably shaking. I didn't realize it at the time But I was also dehydrated. I tried to get into a hot bath but it felt too hot. A cooler bath quickly felt too cold. My hands and arms began convulsing and shaking with what seemed like 'waves' flowing inside them. This feeling crept remorselessly up my arms, then my legs and finally my head. My speech became incoherent and my face distorted. Hypothermia was beginning to set in and my body was trying to conserve warmth by giving up on my limbs and trying to preserve my essential organs...as I lay there on the floor seriously hyperventilating the paramedics arrived'

Lining the Well.

     'I had to line the well with these precast concrete rings each weighing 80kg. They were too heavy to lift and had to be rolled to the top of the well. Being such an awkward shape and slotting down the sides of the well I had to get onto the well and pull each ring over my head and shoulders. the first one stuck wedging me in the hole with the water rising around me and my feet sinking slowly into the clay.'

  Flint Knapping.

     Knapping flint is basically striking them with a hammer to break them cleanly in half although there is considerably more skill involved.

     'As I struck this flint a shard shot out and went straight through my leather glove into my finger. It felt like an electric shock going through my arm...my glove was wet with blood and would not stop flowing. It was painful all day but I didn't think it was serious...by mid evening it was obvious that something was wrong and I went to hospital. An x-ray revealed a piece of flint lodged by the bone. It could not be removed by local anesthetic and I ended up in in hospital the next day for a small operation. The flint had severed a nerve and I had lost a lot of the feeling in my finger'

                                                       A Precautionary Measure.

It has always been a little bit of a worry that a small child might fall down the well and that some dreadful accident would occur. Consequently I have taken every opportunity to look for something suitable as a well gate. Eventually I found part of a cast iron fence that was the right size and could be easily converted and in December 2000 it was installed. It also blends in perfectly with the overall design.                                                                                                 

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