About Waterston Springs
Waterston Springs is a holding of about 4.5 acres, with natural springs rising at the head of the property which feed a small chalk stream that joins the nearby River Piddle above Puddletown. It is bordered by a strip of managed hazel coppice to the North and farmland to the South.

Far From The Madding Crowd.
The area was immortalised by Thomas Hardy in the novel ‘Far From The Madding Crowd.’ Waterston Manor was the setting for Bathsheba’s home, with nearby Druce Farm the home of Farmer Boldwood. Gabriel Oak’s cottage was said to have been in the adjacent field where there was also the sheepwash which features in the novel. Sadly this was filled in during the 1970’s to ‘tidy’ the watermeadow for agriculture. Thomas Hardy’s cottage at Higher Bockhampton can be walked to via an old trackway known as Gaddy’s lane.

Watercress
Waterston Springs was, from about 1890 to 1968, a thriving watercress farm producing traditional bunched watercress to send to market by train from Dorchester. It was then known as Sylvasprings, and belonged to the Dorset firm of Bedford and Jesty.

The infrastructure of the original beds can still be seen, as can the remains of the narrow gauge railway line which helped to carry the watercress to the bunching shed in small trucks. One bed is being restored and fenced off and will be in production soon.

Experimental station
Since 1970 the site was owned by the Freshwater Biological Association, whose head office was in Windermere in the Lake District. They required a Southern laboratory, with abundant good quality spring water, to conduct a wide range of scientific studies including research into freshwater plants, fish such as Bullheads and the Blandford fly, which inhabits the River Stour and inflicts a painful bite. Research undertaken in special tanks built on site led to the discovery of an enzyme which removes the larvae of the blackfly from the river without impacting on other aquatic life. In its heyday the laboratory had around ten scientists working at the lab benches.

Workshop
We purchased the site in 1998 and set about restoring the, by then, derelict flat and converting the building into a family home. The main laboratory became the kitchen, and the adjacent laboratory and store became a workshop for Plankbridge, the furniture making business of Richard Lee.

Wetland nature reserve
The watercress beds had become neglected over the years, and had subsequently been used to keep cattle, goats and pigs by the resident site manager of the FBA who lived here with his family. A large area has become a wet meadow, with wildflowers such as Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) and Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre). We carefully cut the meadow in August and September using a modern version of the old Allen Scythe finger mower. This cuts with a scissor like action thus avoiding the carnage caused by mowers on the insects, amphibians and small mammals living in the long grass. Regular cutting and raking is increasing the biodiversity and a significant area has gained Site of Nature Conservation Interest status from the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Some landscaping has been undertaken, including forming grassy banks to provide habitat for the resident watervoles. Otters regularly visit the site, and spraint (droppings) are recorded for the Dorset Wildlife Trust otter survey. Kingfishers can often be seen catching sticklebacks and other small fish.

There are several areas of reed sweet grass which, in the winter months, provide cover and wet feeding areas for birds such as snipe, greenshank, sandpipers and wildfowl. One of the best experiences is to hear, and then see groups of Teal and Mallard fly overhead onto the old cress beds on a clear winters evening just as darkness falls.