Photo of Surveyed Pool

 

The former pool basin seemed to be in a fairly good state of repair although it is now dry and filled with rubble and some rubbish. Two items in the basin looked as if they had originally come from the temple. One was a carved block of smooth black stone, which had, what appeared to be, a fixing slot on the top. It is possible that this had been part of the base of one of the two sphinxes that flanked the entrance to the temple. The other was a square block made of stone or concrete and again looked like the base of some statue or ornament or perhaps a submerged stepping stone to allow easy access to the water spout at the pools centre.

We used a handheld GPS device to fix its location and carried out a survey measuring various points on the structure to a base line. The basin consists of a central stone block mounted on a concrete base on which, originally, the obelisk and its inscribed base once stood. It appears that the stone block was originally bevelled at the top but the West, East and South edges are now so badly damaged that no sign of this can be seen. There is a central hole in the top of the block and an exit, where the lion-headed spout is shown in the old photographs, to the North-West. Although the channel is quite large it is unlikely that the originating spring (in Spring Wood) would have supplied much more that a steady trickle of water. The feed pipe can be seen at the North-East of the basin where a pipe can be seen entering the basin at a low level. We could see no evidence of pipework linking this entry with the main, central block channels, but some remnant of this may still exist under the rubble.

The basin itself consists of a circular brick wall, its top being flush with the surrounding woodland floor. The wall is brick-built with a thin cement skim, the brick-type being consistent with the quoted 18th century date. The concrete has been formed so that it appears to be consulted of two levels of large, shaped stone. Immediately above the water entry point the rim has a gap but, as the edges have crumbled, it is not possible to tell if this was originally an overflow or if it has been vandalised.

Photos taken of Pool Basin Area

 

Annotated photograph of Pool Basin

 

Start of Survey

 

 

Picture, showing rubbish fill of basin

 

Stone block in pool Basin, possibly part of sphinx pedistal

 

 

Close-up of probable Lion-Headed Spout position

 

Water entry pipe at edge of basin

 

 

Square Stone Block - Purpose Unknown

 

Annotated photo of start of Survey showing major features of Pool Basin

Project Survey

In producing this write-up I have used internet sources for much of the information. However one has to beware that the Brethren were a secret society and some of the material may be based on speculation or maybe biased. Also the Temple and the spring basin are sited on private land and the number of pictures available of this iconic landmark are very limited.

If you have any old photos, information or perhaps stories from your youth we would really love to hear from you.

If you have anything of interest please contact me Bill Howard, Gaywood Valley Archaeological and Historical Project or West Norfolk & King's Lynn Archaeology Society. The temple was a definitive part of the hamlet of Reffley and it would be a shame that information about it was lost.

Forthcoming Events

• Exhibition at True's Yard The artefacts recovered from our excavations along the Gaywood Valley will be on show at True's Yard in King's Lynn from 21st January.

• Photos and Audio There are also a selection of photos and audio interviews on-line on our HistoryPin Channel History Pin Channel

 

Text and photographs are taken from the Gaywood Valley and Archeological and Historical Project website. Permission has been obtained from the Society to use this material.