A piece of history was discovered during £4.5m improvement works to a Hampshire wastewater treatment works.
Workers carrying out an excavation as part of the upgrade works to build a storm tank at Chickenhall Wastewater Treatment Works in Eastleigh discovered a mug and water bottle, that are both believed to be more than 160 years old.
The mug incorporates the logo of London and South Western Railways, which links back to the history of this area and its connection to the growing rail industry in the 19th century.
The London and South Western Railway Company built the station in 1838 near the village of Barton, initially named Bishopstoke Junction. This marked a pivotal turning point in Eastleigh’s history as the railway’s arrival spurred the town’s growth before the first world war.
About Chickenhall Wastewater Treatment Works
Chickenhall Wastewater Treatment Works dates back to the 1870s, and in the present day serves around 100,000 people from Eastleigh and villages south of Winchester including Shawford, Twyford, Colden Common and Otterbourne.
The works are currently undergoing a number of improvements to help day-to-day operations and reduce storm overflows and improve water quality.
This work which started in November last year and will finish in March 2025, includes increasing the storm tank capacity and reducing the amount of phosphorus that enter the watercourse.
Undertaking the project for Southern Water is GTb, a joint venture between Galliford Try Environment and Binnies UK Ltd.
Stuart Whisby from GTb said:
“You never know what you’re going to find when you open up the ground. You can get a fair idea of what could be found by doing due diligence, but you’d realistically only expect to find fragments of items. To find two items in near perfect condition is quite a surprise. How’d they get there and how’d they end up being buried 2m down. Was this a forgetful worker? I guess we’ll never truly know.”
Director for Wastewater Operations, John Penicud, said:
“It is fascinating seeing the history that surrounds our treatment works, we always make sure that when we do work we take care so we don’t damage any of the interesting relics we may uncover.
“Eastleigh is an interesting place and its connection to the railway is central to the town’s identity, so it doesn’t surprise me that evidence of this is still being uncovered.”
“Moving forward, what is also important is the town’s connection to the River Itchen that is next to our treatment works and the improvements we’re making will help our wider work of improving water quality at this important chalk stream.”
