LEADERS of a project to restore a beloved Grade-II listed pool to its former glory have praised the community spirit of volunteers who worked tirelessly to clear it of silt and debris.

Volunteers from The Rewild Project got stuck in over two days to clear the pool at St Anthony’s Well near Flaxley, which is thought to date back to the late 18th century, to make it safe and accessible for the local community.

And the bluestone floor of the pool, which has not been seen in years, is now visible once again thanks to the hard graft and support of local people.

The Rewild Project’s Spring and Wells initiative, which was organised in conjunction with Forestry England and funded by Foresters’ Forest, was led by Rewild’s Scott Baine and Forest of Dean district councillor Thom Forrester.

The pool, which is fed by water from a spring which runs in via a pipe, has been described as "probably (the) largest and most picturesque holy well in Gloucestershire."

On the first day of the restoration project, the team placed a bypass pipe from inlet to outlet while volunteers attempted to bucket out the remaining water until it was low enough to shovel out the silt.

It took about two hours of work from a team of six with buckets to reveal water seeping in through the walls - and with a team constantly bucketing to keep water level low, a few more "brave souls" dived in to remove silt.

By the end of the day, about half the silt had been removed from the pool, as well as "an astounding collection" of rocks, glasses, precious stones and coins, along with the usual "undesirable" broken glass.

At that point, the team noticed the unusually high water level around the collection point.

They dug channels to divert the water, the flagstone was lifted and the inlet pipe was cleared of silt and debris, leaving the area completely clear and dry.

Following the first day of works, Rewild Project leader Scott said: "The day was a huge success despite us not fully completing the task - community spirit was high and we feel we are walking in our ancestors’ footsteps by coming together to take care of our heritage sacred water source."

When the team returned on November 20, enthusiasm for the project resumed, with a local walking group singing a song written specially for the well and Rae, a local traveller, chanting water protection incantations.

Stories were also shared of the well’s healing properties, with one local man telling how his shoulder pain disappeared after swimming in the pool.

The team also enjoyed a variety of "goodies" from the Forest Bakehouse in Longhope.

The volunteers built on the knowledge gained on the first day and used sandbags to divert the flow of water at the source.

With a team once again working to remove water in buckets, they reached the bottom after four hours, making a total of 10 hours working on the project.

Following their success at St Anthony’s, the group now hope to begin works to restore Borden Well, near Gunns Mill in Littledean, next year.

Project leader Thom Forester said: "Its fantastic to see the community come together with this project and this piece of rich history returned to its glory.

"We look forward to the next works at Borden Well beginning in January.

"Everyone enjoyed goodies from local workers co-op the Forest Bakehouse - all in all the day was an astounding success with support from all age groups right across the forest."