Listed Building record MDR6287 - Conduit House, Southeast of St Bernadettes Church, High Street, Old Bolsover
Type and Period (2)
- CONDUIT HOUSE (Elizabethan to Stuart - 1600 AD to 1700 AD)
- CONDUIT (Elizabethan to 21st Century - 1600 AD? to 2050 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
Conduit House, southeast of St Bernadettes Church, High Street, Old Bolsover, probably a 17th century building.
Four buildings: (A) at SK 4716 7044 [SMR11207]; (B) at SK 4733 7025 [SMR11208]; © at SK 4745 7011 [SMR11209]; (D) at SK 4761 6996 [SMR11210]. WATCH HOUSE [G.T.]. (1)
The four small buildings, called watch towers, on the west slope of Bolsover Castle hill, date probably from 1622-42. Scheduled as 'Watch Towers' (2-4)
These so-called 'Watch Towers' are, in fact, conduit or spring-fed well houses: the architecture supports a 17th century date. They seem to be part of the town's water supply, each probably fed by a separate spring, for there is no certain evidence of their being interconnected by piping. Building 'B' - see photo AO/59/366/3. (5)
A series of four watch houses to the south-east of Bolsover Castle, Bolsover, are ashlar one storey buildings, of 16th century date. Grade 2. (6)
The conduit houses are built on the line of the castle water supply from a spring on the Spittle Green to the south-east. Sir William Cavendish secured a right of way to enable him to lay the pipe connecting the conduits in July 1622, thus the buildings date from that time or shortly after. (7)
The conduit houses off Castle Lane and off High Street were examined in detail by the RCHME after a serious slippage of a section of escarpment and in anticipation of further movement. Surviving evidence suggests that these two conduit houses were originally almost identical. Each is a small single-cell, single-storey structure, 122 x 122cm internally, with walls, of squared magnesian limestone, standing on a series of plinths. Each has a barrel-vaulted stone roof. No trace of the original roofing material is apparent. The High Lane conduit house has a chamfered square-headed doorway in the uphill (north-east) elevation and a chamfered single-slight window over it. Both have a drain in the downhill elevation at floor level. (9)
17th century Conduit Houses. Consolidated as ruins, but vulnerable. Structural survey undertaken for Civic Society under CAP scheme. Consolidation works undertaken. (10)
From the National Heritage List for England:
'SK 4771 TOWN OF OLD BOLSOVER OFF HIGH STREET 16/67 (South Side) 5.7.65 Conduit House to South East of St Bernadette's Church (formerly listed as one of four watch houses SE of Bolsover Castle)
II*
Conduit house. Probably C17. Coursed squared limestone with sandstone dressings. Remains of a stone tunnel vault, and remains of coped gables. Small rectangular gabled building with massive,quoins. Square headed doorway with quoins and lintel. Small square opening above. Rectangular opening to rear. The conduit house is one of four along the escarpment which brought water to Bolsover Castle.
Listing NGR: SK4733970250.'
(11)
Sources/Archives (11)
- <1> SDR12054 Map: Ordnance Survey (OS). 1914-38. OS 6".
- <2> SDR73 Bibliographic reference: Pegge, S. 1785. History of Bolsover and Peak Castles. 24-25, illust.
- <3> SDR6968 Article in serial: Gregory, F. 1948. 'Bolsover Castle. A review of the 17th century buildings', Transactions of the Thoroton Society. Volume 51, p 4ff. 26ff.
- <4> SDR714 Scheduling record: Ministry of Works. 1958. Ancient Monuments of England and Wales.
- <5> SDR6512 Personal Observation: F1 WW 24-NOV-59.
- <6> SDR5100 Bibliographic reference: Department of the Environment. 1961. Bolsover, Derbyshire, November 1961.
- <7> SDR5334 Bibliographic reference: DOE (IAM) Bolsover Castle 1972 64 (P.A. Faulkner).
- <8> SDR11045 Index: NDAT. 1622. 1622.
- <9> SDR20290 Unpublished document: RCHME (Royal Commission on the Historic Monuments of England). 1994. Historic Building Report, Conduit Houses off Castle Lane and High Street, Old Bolsover, Derbyshire.
- <10> SDR22980 Unpublished document: Bolsover District Council. 2008. Bolsover District Council Historic Environment Scheme 2008-2012.
- <11> SDR19551 Listed Building File: Historic England. 2011. The National Heritage List for England.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | SK 47339 70250 (point) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | OLD BOLSOVER, BOLSOVER, DERBYSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- EDR3523
- EDR2471
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Feb 11 2025 8:18PM