Old well springs to light in cathedral

Archaeologist Simon Best says it's unusual to find an old well of such a size. Picture / Greg Bowker

Builders overhauling St Patrick's Cathedral have found a drinking well under the church that is believed to have provided fresh water for nuns more than 100 years ago.

The brick-lined well is about 5m deep and 1.4m wide.

Dr Simon Best, the archaeologist supervising the excavation, said it was unusual to find an old well of that size.

The well was uncovered when contractors began excavating the concrete floor of the church.

The floor is being replaced with a wooden base as part of extensive renovation work which started in October last year.

Kevin Sherlock, business manager of the cathedral in Wyndham St, central Auckland, said the well was a source of fresh drinking water for the cathedral site from the early 1840s to the 1880s.

It was one of the busiest social centres in Auckland at the time and the well would have provided water for the priests and parishioners - mainly Irish and Croatian immigrants - of the original St Patrick's Cathedral.

It was also one of the first stone buildings in Auckland and the first New Zealand cathedral, Mr Sherlock said.

The well would have provided drinks for the Sisters of Mercy nuns who lived and worked from their first convent on the Wyndham Street site, and looked after hundreds of school children at St Patrick's School and orphanage.

Sister Mary Neven, who works at the cathedral, said the find offered an "appreciation of the nuns' life in the time in early Auckland".

Although the well will be filled with gravel, senior project leader Christopher Edwards said a hatch would be built near the well allowing guests to see it.

The cathedral is undergoing a $12 million conservation and restoration project and is due to reopen at Easter next year.

During the past months, workers have found a number of relics including a jug made in Britain in about 1845. They also turned up four legs of a bell tower at the northeast corner of the cathedral.