Summary

A C16 conduit house built on the site of an earlier medieval structure that served the water supply for Lacock Abbey.

Description

A C16 conduit house.

DESCRIPTION: constructed of limestone ashlar with a steep gabled roof constructed of interlocking stone slabs with a projecting moulding. The building is roughly square on plan with a west end door in a plain chamfered surround and cyma-moulded cornice over. A roundel above has a raised foliage border around an eroded raised plaque. The east end wall has similar roundel. There is a moulded plinth. The doorway may be a later insertion and the door is of C19 or C20 date. The interior has a stone block and tile floor with a drain by the door. Aligned east/west a rectangular stone tank is sunk below the floor, and has a moulded coping with slots for a former lid covering. At the east end is an inlet opening with inserted terracotta pipe, and the west end has a drain in the base. The north, east and south walls have an ashlar niche with a shallow four-centred arch. The architraves of the niches have historic graffiti (dates and initials). The interior walls have a coarse applied render. The roof structure comprises five closely-spaced rounded stone ribs. The building is enclosed by a metal railed fence with gate.

History

The Conduit House dates to the mid-C16. It was reputedly built by Sir William Sharington (c1495- c1553), who bought and rebuilt Lacock Abbey in the 1540s following the Dissolution. Around this time a medieval conduit house was replaced over the water supply to the Abbey. The original building was constructed after 1280 when William Bluet of Bewley Court granted Beatrice, Abbess of Lacock the right to build and maintain a conduit house and watercourse on his land to serve the nunnery. The building has undergone minor alterations and repairs since its C16 replacement.

Reasons for Listing

Conduit House 50m north of the Church of St Anne is, Bowden Hill, Lacock, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: as a well-preserved mid-C16 conduit house, notable for its restrained classical design;
* Historic interest: as the site of a medieval conduit associated with Lacock Abbey (Grade I);
* Group value: it forms a group with the Church of St Anne (Grade II).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17546526

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6