Carfax Conduit

The conduit ran in an underground lead pipe from a spring on the hillside above the village of North Hinksey, beneath Seacourt Stream and the River Thames, 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.

[1] The conduit building at Carfax was an elaborate structure, some 40 feet (12 m) tall, with eight niches containing statues of historic and mythical figures.

The original structure was given to the Earl Harcourt, who had it re-erected in the grounds of his home, Nuneham House, where it remains to this day.

[2] Two plaques are attached to opposite sides of the building, giving a short history in English and Latin.