Coombe Conduit

Coombe Conduit is a remarkable Tudor underground aqueduct running from Coombe Common in Surrey to supply water to Hampton Court Palace three and a half miles away in Middlesex. To do so, the conduit runs from the springs on the common down to the River Thames and then beneath the river before rising at the palace. The conduit was probably built by King Henry VIII (though it might have been Cardinal Wolsey, who built the palace for himself). The well-head was guarded to prevent the poisoning of the King's water.

The conduit supplied Hampton Court Palace with water for 350 years.

The well head is the one visible structure today and is now found in the garden of 28 Lord Chancellor Walk, Coombe Lane West in Coombe, Surrey. The structure is Grade I listed and in the care of English Heritage.

The Coombe Conduit is one of three Tudor-era structures built to supply water from the springs of Coombe to Hampton Court Palace: Coombe Conduit, Ivy Conduit (on the grounds of Holy Cross Preparatory School on George Road) and Gallows Conduit (on the grounds of Hampton Spring house on George Road).

History

Coombe Conduit formed part of a system which collected water from nearby springs and channelled it to Hampton Court Palace, along with Gallows Conduit and Ivy Conduit nearby. Research suggests that the system was installed under Henry VIII from 1529 onwards: the fact that the lands on which the conduit heads were built belonged to Merton Priory until 1538, when the priory was dissolved and its lands fell to the Crown.

Originally the conduit consisted of an upper and a lower chamber 65 feet 6 inches apart, connected by an underground vaulted passage: the upper chamber collected water from the spring into a tank, from which it passed through lead pipes into a tank in the lower chamber where sediment was allowed to settle, and water drawn off from there into the main conduit leading to the palace. Intermediate tanks fitted with stopcocks enabled sections of pipe to be isolated for repairs.

The total length of piping was about 3.4 miles. The lead pipes were three inches in diameter, using lead half an inch think. Such was the fall from head to foot of the system, 130 feet over three miles, that the water pressure was sufficient to supply running water to rooms on the second floor of the palace.

In the 17th century, an additional tank was built on the north side of the upper conduit house, higher than the Tudor original. In the 18th century a third tank was added at a lower level on the south side.

The system supplied the palace with water until 1876, though the supply had become intermittent some time before. In 1896 the conduit houses and a length of the lead piping were sold to the Duke of Cambridge, on whose land they stood. In 1900 the Crown formally relinquished all rights over the pipes.

In 1943 the upper chamber was badly damaged by a falling elm tree (a tree apparenty weakened by German bombs), bringing down the remains of the roof, the two masonry gables and parts of the remainder of the walls. It has since undergone restoration, the event classified as war damage.

In about 1970 the area was developed residentially, and Coombe Conduit was enclosed within the garden of 28 Lord Chancellor Walk.

Outside links

• Coombe Conduit – English Heritage
• Coombe Conduit: History and research
• History
• Location maps:
  • OS map: TQ20496984
  • Wikishire map: 51°24’53"N, 0°16’7"W

References

• Forge, JL, ‘Coombe Hill Conduit Houses and the water supply of Hampton Court Palace’, Surrey Archaeological Collections (1959), 56, 3–14
• Thurley, S, Hampton Court Palace (London, 2003)