The hand pump over the well · La Orotava

The hand water pump

A cast-iron lever pump, mounted over the old well and surrounded by clay water jars.

Manual cast-iron water pump on a stump, beside clay water jars, in sepia tones

It was worked by hand, up and down, to raise the water that watered the vegetable garden.

The story

Before the tap, water was raised by hand. The piston pump, an iron lever and a cylinder, created a vacuum and lifted water from the well each time someone moved the arm.

On an estate, that flow of water was everything: the vegetable garden, the animals, the kitchen. The pump still stands in its place as a reminder of when watering took the effort of one's arms.

Did you know

A piston pump works by vacuum: as the piston rises it draws water up from the well, and as it falls it pushes it out through the spout.

The other features of the park

Seven pieces of Canary Island craft, inside the garden.

Beam press of the wine press under a tiled roof, with barrels and a wooden screw

The century-old wine press

The traditional wine press still keeps its century-old vault of sandstone brick, the wooden barrels and the bottles stacked in an arch. Outside, the old beam press rests beneath its roof.

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Traditional hay barn of dry volcanic stone with a green door and a thatched roof

The hay barn

Built of dry volcanic stone, with its green door and a thatched roof. The Cabildo of Tenerife has it listed as an ethnographic heritage site.

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The threshing floor

A ring of open lawn between walls of volcanic stone and Canary Island pines. On this ground the harvest grain was once threshed.

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Stone washing troughs with basins, spouts and metal tubs, beside a clay water jar

The stone washing troughs

The original basins still standing, with their spouts over the stone. Here the laundry was washed by hand before water reached the houses.

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Carved wooden trough, hollowed from a single log, resting against a stone wall beside clay water jars

The carved wooden trough

A trough carved from a single hollowed-out log, resting against the stone wall with a couple of clay jars beside it.

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Colourful petanque boules on the earth court among Canary Island pines, with a birdhouse in the background

The petanque court

A court carved out among Canary Island pines, with firm earth underfoot and shade that settles in by the late afternoon.

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Wander the park during your stay.

The the hand water pump and the other features are yours to explore freely when you stay in one of the houses on the estate, in La Orotava.

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