34204 The original conduit was a system built by the Greyfriars in c.1314. The underground lead pipes led from an intake house (said to have been demolished in 1979, but which is also recorded as being in ruins in 1987) which protected the spring three quarters of a mile west (1.2km). The sixteenth century system extended the conduit from the friary site to the Market Place. No trace remains of the original lead pipeline or the iron pipe which replaced it later on. It was the first public water supply to the town. It was a public water supply from 1597 until 1851, but continued in use as a drinking fountain possibly until the late nineteenth century. {1}{2}{3}{4}{5}