Medieval Water Supply Origins (1100s-1350)

• Exeter initially relied on natural springs at surface level for early settlement
• By Middle Ages, water supply became major logistical challenge for growing population
• Cathedral decided to build gravity flow aqueduct around 1100s
  • Partly for prestige
  • Needed water for ritual purposes
  • Supplied senior clergy with piped water luxury
• 12th century: increased population demanded more clean water
• Church enlisted engineers to find new water source in nearby Saint Sidwell

Early Pipe System Development

• Earliest system: lead pipes in deep trench under ground
• Water brought from springs outside city walls via lead pipes
• Distributed through public fountains
• Challenge: pumping water uphill from Saint Sidwells to cathedral
• Solution: medieval engineers installed siphon system
  • Similar to ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans
  • Used gravity and atmospheric pressure to force water through lead pipes uphill
  • No pumps required

Cathedral Passage Construction (1346)

• 1346: construction began on first underground section (Cathedral Passage)
• Built using cut and cover method:
  • Dig trench first
  • Line bottom with stone, build up walls
  • Build vault with wooden century
  • Backfill once set
• Construction details:
  • Lead pipes laid along floor
  • Space covered with vaulting stones and filled in
  • Manholes constructed for medieval plumber access
  • Featured foot holes at bottom of square manholes
  • Approximately 5 meters deep

Water Distribution System

• Cathedral passage delivered clean water to clergy only
• Insufficient for rest of population
• Town councilors wanted independent water supply (not piggyback on cathedral system)
• Wealthy citizens: water piped directly to homes
• General public: water dispensed through Great Conduit (public fountain at city center)
• Deep wells called "tie pits" became increasingly polluted by human effluent

City Passages Expansion (1420s)

• 15th century: second underground system built for entire city population
• Response to public outcry about water access
• Eastgate Chamber: earliest part of city passages
  • Built approximately 1420
  • Contains foundations of old Exeter Eastgate
  • Original medieval door with stone steps leading to chamber
  • Medieval housing for lead pipe of city aqueduct
  • Features square stone with hole for pipe emergence
  • Contains medieval graffiti

19th Century Cholera Response (1831)

• Fall 1831: cholera spreading across Europe
• Exeter officials prepared city for disease arrival
• Connection made between unsanitary water and cholera
• Board of Health commissioned James Goldsworthy for passage updates
• Goldsworthy's improvements:
  • Returned to wellheads, re-edified them
  • Changed pipe positions lower down
  • Cut away original floor to make trench deeper
  • Replaced lead pipes with cast iron (learned lead caused poisoning)
  • Changed passage shape to "coffin shape"
  • Top remained Tudor work, bottom became 19th century design

System Abandonment and Repurposing

• 1857: passages stopped supplying water when well damaged during railway construction
• 1901: passages abandoned but not forgotten
• Network spans nearly 1400 feet across city
• Buried 20ft under streets

WWII Baedecker Raids (1942)

• 1942: Exeter suffered terrible damage from Baedecker Raider Blitz
• Hitler's retaliation for RAF bombing of historic German cities
• Targeted England's beautiful but strategic towns
• Exeter hit first in series
• Two nights intensive bombing devastated city
• Some took shelter in tunnels
• Above ground: city annihilated, 265 people killed
• Post-war: city rebuilt, tunnel network rediscovered

Current State

• Network remains 20ft underground across city center
• Accessed through unassuming entrance
• Archaeologist John Allen: expert on subterranean system
• Local historians and underground enthusiasts continue uncovering finds
• Features little bridge underneath medieval street
• Vault construction with finely chiseled blocks