Taps.

As most Silvertonians old and new will be aware there are still a number sites in the village where water taps were located in the days before mains water became universal. Like others, I am old enough to remember some of these taps still being used by residents to collect water as late as the 1970's. One well known and remembered Silvertonian in fact, continued to use it as his main water supply until his death in that decade.


One use my grandmother found for such a tap in Parsonage lane back in the early part of the twentieth century was to replace the cider in the jar that her uncle had sent her, and one of her sisters, to the Lamb to collect, from which they had drunk a quantity. This went on for some time until her uncle Bil said that he was going to have to go to The Lamb to confront 'Walty Marsh' about the heinious crime of watering his cider. unfortunately, I dont know what punishments were handed out to the offenders.

Underage drinking and related crime, have a long pedigree it seems..