REFFLEY ACADEMY’S -
​
Reffley Spring History Project.
​
In the 1980’s, Reffley Primary School, -as it was then known, - as part of its History Syllabus, used to take its pupils, the ¼ mile from the school to the derelict Reffley Spring site. This was when the Temple building, though in a ruined state, and the obelisk were still in situ, and also after they had been demolished. The children found many artifacts scattered around the site, which included pottery and clay pipe fragments, metal and bricks, which the school still holds. They have also collected documents outlining the history of the site (as it was understood in the 1970’s and 1980’s) and old maps. The school has kindly given me permission to view their collection of material, from which the ff. (below) have been taken. ADC.
​
This engraving (above) shows how Lynn must have looked at the time when Reffley Spring came into prominence.
Meeting of the Reffley Bretheren at their Temple in happier days -1930’s.
View of the seats round the Spring with the Temple in the background – 1964 and Obelisk (below)
Reffley Temple Interior – 1970
Inspectiing Damage and view of the Temple prior to its demolition
Reffley Primary School Pupils explore the Temple site.
In this photo, one can see in the background that the Temple has already been demolished. As the removal of the mortar between the base slab and the obelisk looks fresh, one must assume that this is the beginning of the process to demolish the obelisk as well, because if it was the result of vandalism, it was in a highly dangerous condition.
The following images (below) show just some of the children’s many finds.
The artefact (upper centre- lower image) is a candle holder when the centre-piece is turned upright.
The remains (below) of the Bretheren’s elegant Dining Set – possibly called Winton Ware
and was manufactured by Grimwades of Stoke on Trent in the early 19th century.
I
Smoking clay pipes, known as Churchwardens, was a prominent feature of the Bretheren’s meetings. Sadly none have survived intact.
The small area of woodland at the top of Reffley Green or Open space, is actually privately owned (and not a part of the Green and Springwood, leased by the Reffley community Association), as evidenced by the remains of an old Private Property Notice in the image (below).
