St Augustine's Conduit House

 

We're back with the local adventures and this time we've returned to Canterbury for St Augustine's Conduit House which is effectively the water supply to the nearby abbey.

This was a common thing back in the medieval period due to fears that the local rivers and streams may be polluted. The conduit house would tap into springs near the building via tunnels, in this case four, and through several smaller ducts brought water into a collection tank that was then piped to the abbey through a lead pipe. This was then diverted as they saw fit when it reached the abbey.

Obviously when the Big Bully King dissolved all the monasteries the conduit house was no longer required and by 1733 ownership had passed to Sir John Hales as he owned the reservoir. He then modified the house which divided the tank and added a new roof to it as well as allowing Canterbury to use it and the reservoir to supplement its water supply.

Aside from some other renovations in the 19th century, St Augustine's Conduit House has pretty much been left here, somewhat abandoned. At the moment it is within a housing estate, covered in rubbish, and hard to visit. It has been left to rot in a time where it isn't needed but they aren't allowed to remove or forget it. We thought it was quite a sad site actually, but it was interesting to see an example of medieval plumbing!

Haunted: 2/10

Worth the visit: 3/10

Giftshop: n/a

Ghost count: 0

Dog friendly: Yes

DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images are ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source.. 

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