THE local community in Melksham has joined forces to find a way of commemorating two historic wells in the Market Place.

Local residents and Melksham Town Council have formed a committee to look into how the historic wells which were uncovered during the work to redevelop the Market Place can be commemorated.

They have organised a public meeting for Tuesday, September 5 at Melksham Town Hall. It will start at 7.30pm and everyone who is interested is invited to attend.

Although the wells existence was known, an underground chamber was also discovered during the work.

Public support has since grown for them to become a permanent feature. It is believed the wells could be 200 to 300 years old and were originally used to water animals brought to sell in the old market place.

Some locals have suggested the wells could be made more visually attractive by covering them with glass and installing lights on the shaft wall.

Councillor Adrienne Westbrook, Mayor of Melksham, welcomed the formation of a joint committee, saying: “"Once the residents have put forward some suggestions on what to do with the wells, we can apply for some Heritage Lottery funding.

"I personally would like to see the shaft illuminated and reinforced glass put on the top, rather than a folly-type feature."

Both wells have been capped off and black plastic tubing placed inside the shafts to protect and preserve the ancient brickwork. If the community wishes a feature to be installed, the tubing and the caps can be removed.

Melksham Seniors Chair Brian Warwick said: “This is a good opportunity for the community to come together on this particular issue, with the council, to move this forward and make better use of the wells.”

The joint committee will look at ways of working with Wiltshire Council to make the wells a permanent feature of the new-look Market Place.

Originally, the town council had drawn up plans for a ‘replica’ well feature in the Market Place but the idea was dropped on cost grounds. Wiltshire Council didn’t want to spend £80,000 on a feature that wasn’t essential.