When the trough runs dry (From Gazette & Herald)

When the trough runs dry

I am compiling these notes after a long dry, warm and very sunny spell of spring weather, although I am aware that by the time these words appear in print, the summer-like conditions might have been replaced by cold, rain, wind or even snow. Such is the uncertaintly of the English spring climate.

One of my local indicators of dry conditions, or a worrying shortage of water, is an old horse trough fashioned from stone.

A double-header, it stands on the roadside near my house and is fed by springs which emerge

from the neighbouring hillside. If those springs dry up, then a drought can be expected.

It is just one of several troughs along the hillside in question, some of which are on private property, but this one is a reminder of bygone times when these filling stations of the past were a feature of every village.

Indeed, one would expect to find them between villages or near places where horses congregated, such as the farrier's premises or farmyards.

The early troughs were made from stone although modern ones, which continue to provide water for livestock on remote areas of farmland, tend to be made of other materials such as metal or even plastic, and some are replenished by mains water instead of springs.

It is a sad fact, however, that so many of those old stone troughs have disappeared. I know of one

which has been built into a wall and others which have been allowed to vanish among the undergrowth.

Yet more were removed during road-widening schemes or simply because they were considered to be of no further use. I think it is fair to say that a considerable number have found refuge in gardens as containers for flowers or even fish, or perhaps as modern water features, but in spite of that, many have survived along our lanes and roads, or in villages which continue to show a pride in maintaining them.

Some are merely stone containers for the water while others are rather more ornate, often with a carved head of some kind - say an animal

like a lion or perhaps a fish, or even a god from some past religion - from whose mouth the water pours into the trough.

Many are single troughs but some are double or even triple water containers which were carefully

positioned so that a team of horses could drink their fill at the same time.

It was a feature of most troughs that the supply of fresh spring water never ceased to flow, whether it was from a spring or even a diverted beck, but nowadays, this is a luxury in some cases.

In thinking about the removal of thousands of troughs, one must next consider who put them there. Quite clearly, landowners and farmers

obtained their own troughs and, some time ago, I was speaking to a gentleman whose family made them. They were created from stone quarried locally; the block was drawn upon a sledge to my correspondent's workshop and each trough was excavated with a pick-axe.

It took seven or eight days to make one trough, and my correspondent's family made them in all sizes.

Circular ones were created especially for pigs, so that they could stand around them in a circle and enjoy a communal feast - food, rather than water, was placed in these.

Many of the troughs made by his family were bought by landowners and farmers although parish councils also purchased them for use in

villages. On occasions, a benevolent landowner would provide a trough for his local community and quite often this would be somewhat ornate with an inscription to record his generosity.

Such troughs might have a tall backpiece which, like the more plain types, might also bear suitable carvings or coats of arms, the face of an ancient god or animal or fish, or even some other meaningful design.

They might also be supplied with a metal cup on a chain which could be used by humans requiring a drink of fresh water.

I recall one which bore an incription: "Take this cup with thanks and silent think, so that thy

horse may also drink."

And at Cropton, near Pickering, there was a metal cup with an inscription saying: "On Cropton Cross there is a cup and in that cup there is a sup."

One which was erected at Thirkleby, near Thirsk, by Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey said: "Weary traveller, bless Sir Ralph, who set for thee this welcome trough."

Yet another, between Burnsall and

Appletreewick, in the Yorkshire Dales bears a Latin inscription which, when translated, means, "Let the horse drink at the spring, and thereafter lift his head with joy."

I understand that in London and some other major cities, very ornate civic horse troughs were established and many are now maintained by various societies, but unless a parish council, or perhaps a willing individual from a village, takes it upon himself or herself to look after our remaining troughs, it seems many of these relics from a bygone age will eventually disappear from our landscape.

Updated: 15:36 Wednesday, April 30, 2003