Conduit Head is a 1910 house located off the

Madingley Road Madingley Road is a major arterial road linking central Cambridge, England with Junction 13 of the M11 motorway. It passes by West Cambridge, a major new site where some University of Cambridge departments are being relocated. The road is desig ...

( A1303) on the western outskirts of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England. Built in 1910, it was designed by

Harry Redfern Henry "Harry" Redfern (April 1861 – 6 March 1950) was a British architect. Early life Born in April 1861, he was educated at Abingdon School from 1871 to 1877. Career Redfern designed work in Oxford, Cambridge, Abingdon and Carlisle. At the ...

for

Francis Darwin Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born in Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was the ...

, and was built for Darwin's daughter

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

on the occasion of her marriage to

F. M. Cornford Francis Macdonald Cornford (27 February 1874 – 3 January 1943) was an English classical scholar and translator known for work on ancient philosophy, notably Plato, Parmenides, Thucydides, and ancient Greek religion. Frances Cornford, his wif ...

. The architectural historians Simon Bradley and

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

describe the house as "gabled, rural and relaxed".

History

The house was built in 1910 as a wedding gift from

(third son of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

and Emma) to his daughter, Frances Crofts Darwin, for her marriage to

Francis Cornford Francis Macdonald Cornford (27 February 1874 – 3 January 1943) was an English classical scholar and translator known for work on ancient philosophy, notably Plato, Parmenides, Thucydides, and ancient Greek religion. Frances Cornford, his w ...

.Simon Bradley,

. ''Cambridgeshire'' (''

The Buildings of England ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' series), p. 343 (Yale University Press; 2014) It was designed by

and its name was carved by

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...

. Conduit Head was owned by Sir

Peter Lachmann Sir Peter Julius Lachmann (23 December 1931 – 26 December 2020) was a British immunologist, specialising in the study of the Complement system, complement system. He was emeritus Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Immunology at the University of ...

(1931–2020), Sheila Joan Smith Professor of Immunology at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and a fellow of Christ's College, and his wife Sylvia.

Name

conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit curre ...

head, a square stone building of 3 m², stands in the garden behind the house. It might be the original Trinity Head Conduit, constructed in 1327, which served as the main water supply for the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friary in the centre of Cambridge, Cambridge Greyfriars.http://ukga.org/england/Cambridgeshire/places/Cambridge.html Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge was founded on the site of the Greyfriars monastery. The stone roof of the conduit head reveals the age of the structure. Its sloping roof is constructed with slabs that are fastened by iron pegs. Within the conduit head sits a 19th-century lead water tank. The water from the conduit head used to flow into central Cambridge in wooden pipes that passed underneath the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

. Though the water was owned by the Franciscan friars, others would steal some of it along its route. Since the 16th century, the conduit head and the water has been owned by

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. The supply was used to feed the fountain in the Great Court, built in 1601–2. An archaeological dig several years back discovered a Roman settlement nearby with paths in the direction of the conduit head. It is believed{{Who, date=October 2009 that in Roman times and perhaps earlier this source of water was some sort of

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

that was used for ritual purposes

References

Buildings and structures in Cambridge