We recently had a conservatory built on the house and while digging out the foundations the contractors came across 3 field drains running under the house (built 1955).I asked an old lad whose lived in one of the houses for many a year and he said there used to be/is a natural spring in the area.I'm now curious to find out any more info on this, however the water board are a waste of time and i've tried searches on google etc but no joy.Anybody shed any light on who might have anymore info ?
Thanks

I would get in touch with the owner of the land prior to your house being built. Get a copy of the deeds, if you have a mortgage the lender will have them.

go to your local library, ask about local history collections. see if they hold any old large-scale maps of your area. the old Ordnance Survey 2 1/2 inch series showed springs, tiny streams, ponds etc.

It may be a little off-the-wall, but you could try dowsing. It's supposed to detect the presence of underground water. I tried it on an archealogical dig once and it worked!

thing is their there for a reason (water) and its best to keep them even if you have to re-locate them
water table / springs dont dissappear and you might be regretful come the downpours

Thanks for your replies, I'll try and clarify a few points.
We are owners and have the deeds which don't show anything on the plans,the land was bought for building on in 1936/7 and i believe due to the war the houses were left to be built until after the war.
We are happy with the drains as they obviously work as the workman broke one while digging out the founds,and as we had not had any rain for 3 weeks it filled the trench in a short time.
The houses were built on land which req'd drainage due to this spring and it is obvious that there is water as one side of my garden was lovely during the rainless periods.I'm just curious as to where they are fed from and go to.