North Hinksey conduit house

Reasons for Designation

The North Hinksey conduit house is part of a system of water provision intended by Otho Nicholson to provide clean drinking water to the City of Oxford via the Carfax Conduit. Although most of the original system has since been replaced or built over, and the Carfax conduit house has been rebuilt in Nuneham Park, the system is a fine example of early civic clean water provision (built 1610-1616 AD) and marks an important stage in the development of the city. The North Hinksey conduit house is the only visible element of this system, situated in its original location. Despite part restoration of the roof, the monument is largely original and includes archaeological evidence of its construction and use. The monument is in the care of the Secretary of State and can be viewed from the outside by the public.

Details

The monument includes a conduit house in the form of a single-storey stone building situated on a hillside facing north east towards the City of Oxford. The building contains a water tank and a well which provided water to the Carfax Conduit in Oxford. This was part of a gravity fed system of clean water provision built by Otho Nicholson between 1600 and 1610 AD. The building itself faces north with its only door on this side. It measures 13m long and 8m wide and the walls stand up to about 4m high at the gable ends. It has double loop windows at either end with two gabled buttresses on each of its long sides. The building sits on a broad plinth with deep foundations. There is the coat of arms of Otho Nicholson carved on the north east end. The monument is also covered in numerous examples of graffiti from the late 17th century through to the present day. The majority is well chiselled 18th and 19th century work. The ditch and pipe which originally carried water downhill to the north is no longer visible at ground level and has been cut and removed at many points between North Hinksey and the original location of the Carfax conduit house, the conduit house having been moved and rebuilt in Nuneham Park. The conduit house is a Grade II* Listed Building and is in the care of the Secretary of State.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

28132

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Berkshire, (), 405

Other
Title: Ordnance Survey 6" Series Source Date: 1880 Author: Publisher: Surveyor: VI. NE
PRN 1629, C.A.O., CONDUIT HOUSE, OXFORD WATER SUPPLY, (1979)
OCN 54 CARFAX CONDUIT, ENGLISH HERITAGE, COUNTY LIST OF SCHEDULED MONUMENTS - OXFORDSHIRE, (1994)

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