The Conduit House
Conduit House, Bowden Hill, Lacock, Chippenham, SN15 2PP, SN152PP
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1363959
- Date first listed:
- 07-Jan-1987
- List Entry Name:
- The Conduit House
- Statutory Address:
- Conduit House, Bowden Hill, Lacock, Chippenham, SN15 2PP, SN152PP
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Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2002-01-11
- Reference:
- IOE01/04600/02
- Rights:
- © Gill Cardy. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1363959
- Date first listed:
- 07-Jan-1987
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 13-Mar-2017
- List Entry Name:
- The Conduit House
- Statutory Address 1:
- Conduit House, Bowden Hill, Lacock, Chippenham, SN15 2PP, SN152PP
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Conduit House, Bowden Hill, Lacock, Chippenham, SN15 2PP, SN152PP
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Lacock
- National Grid Reference:
- ST9376667979
Summary
A C16 conduit house built on the site of an earlier medieval structure that served the water supply for Lacock Abbey.
Reasons for Designation
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).
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.
Details
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.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 315441
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Cherry, B, Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Wiltshire, (1985 (2nd extensively revised edition)), 119
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 06-Jun-2026 at 11:13:59.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.