PRN 70015 In 1260, the Black Friars were granted permission by the abbot and monks of St Mary's, York, without the suburbs of Lincoln, to enclose a spring in the territory of a cell belonging to St Mary's, and to carry water from there to the highway from Greetwell to Lincoln, and to repair the conduit when necessary.{1}{2}{4}{5} After the Reformation, the city council of Lincoln purchased the conduit {3}{5} , which was removed by city workmen and put into storage, leading to suggestions that the conduit was made of lead. The council decided in the early 1540s to extend the fresh water supply of Lincoln across the River Witham and into the south ward of the city. A statement by Leland that the new conduits were 'servid by pipes derivid from one of the houses of freres' appears to confirm this, and it is possible that the extension of the water system was only able to take place because of the acquisition of the conduit materials.{3}