The Carfax Conduit was a water conduit that supplied the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

with water from 1610 until 1869. The conduit ran in an underground lead pipe from a spring on the hillside above the village of

North Hinksey North Hinksey is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, immediately west of Oxford. The civil parish includes the large settlement of Botley, effectively a suburb of Oxford. North Hinksey was part of Berkshire until the 1974 bo ...

, beneath

Seacourt Stream Hinksey Stream is a branch of the River Thames to the west of the city of Oxford, England. It starts as Seacourt Stream (also known as Wytham Stream), which leaves the Thames at a bifurcation north of the village of Wytham, and rejoins the riv ...

and the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, to a building at Carfax in the centre of Oxford. The system was built by Otho Nicholson, a London lawyer, to supply the citizens of Oxford with clean water. It replaced a system built by

Osney Abbey Osney Abbey or Oseney Abbey, later Osney Cathedral, was a house of Augustinian canons at Osney in Oxfordshire. The site is south of the modern Botley Road, down Mill Street by Osney Cemetery, next to the railway line just south of Oxford s ...

between 1205 and 1221 that had fallen into disrepair. The conduit building at Carfax was an elaborate structure, some tall, with eight niches containing statues of historic and mythical figures. By 1787 it had become an obstacle to traffic and it was removed in 1797 and replaced by a smaller cistern. The original structure was given to the

Earl Harcourt Earl Harcourt, of Stanton Harcourt in the County of Oxford, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749 for Simon Harcourt, 2nd Viscount Harcourt. He was made Viscount Nuneham at the same time, also in the Peerage of G ...

, who had it re-erected in the grounds of his home,

Nuneham House Nuneham House is an eighteenth century villa in the Palladian style, set in parkland at Nuneham Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. It is currently owned by Oxford University and is used as a retreat centre by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual ...

, where it remains to this day. Two plaques are attached to opposite sides of the building, giving a short history in English and Latin. The re-erected conduit is a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument. A building, now called the Conduit House, was built at Harcourt Hill over the spring. It remains ''in situ'' and is in the care of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The Conduit House site is designated as a Grade II* listed building and a scheduled monument. The entire system fell into disuse in the 19th century. In 1869, when it was carrying very little water, the conduit was sold to Oxford Corporation.Victoria County History of Oxfordshire: Water Supply
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Locations

Conduit House Harcourt Hill Geograph-2162812-by-Des-Blenkinsopp

*Conduit House *Carfax *Cistern, now at Nuneham House

Notes

References

*Hibbert, Christopher (ed.) (1988) ''The Encyclopaedia of Oxford''; associate editor: Edward Hibbert. London: Macmillan * {{Cite journal , last = Cole , first = Catherine , author-link = , title = Carfax Conduit , journal = Oxoniensia , volume = 29-30 , issue = , pages = 142–166 , date = 1964–65 , url = http://www.oxoniensia.org/volumes/1964-5/cole.pdf , issn = , doi = , id = , accessdate = 2010-07-21 Buildings and structures in Oxfordshire English Heritage sites in Oxfordshire Grade I listed buildings in Oxfordshire Grade II* listed buildings in Oxfordshire Scheduled monuments in Oxfordshire Aqueducts in England Buildings and structures completed in 1617 Infrastructure completed in 1617 1617 establishments in England