Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

St.Thomas a Becket's Well, Otford, is a stone walled sunken reservior 35 ft. long x 13 ft.

Monument Types

• WELL (WELL, Medieval to Modern - 1066 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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[TQ5312 5920] [TQ 5312 5920] St. Thomas A Becket's Well [NR.] (1) St.Thomas a Becket's Well, Otford, is a stone walled sunken reservior 35 ft. long x 13 ft. (east end) x 8 ft. high with a sluice wall at the west end, served by springs of pure water. Traditionally it is associated with Becket and from early times it was a primary source of water for the nearby archbishop's house [TQ 55 NW 18]. Excavations by the Otford and Dist. Hist. Soc,. 1951-4, showed that the earliest surviving masonry is probably late medieval and that the well required major repairs and renovations frequently throughout it history. Scheduled. (2-3) St. Thomas a Becket's well is as described. (4) Visited by members of the Kent Archaeological Society. (5) Notes on 1951 excavations. (6) Becket's well 35' long from which spring water was supplied to Otford Palace. (TQ 55 NW 18) (7)

A structure of rubble masonry, consisting of a rectangular sunk tank 30' x 9', with an enclosure 20' x 30' to the W at a higher level except for a channel in the centre which receives water from the tank. There is also a staircase leading down into the tank.
Deep pool 15’ square surrounded by random stone retaining walls, but unroofed. Rectangular sunk tank set in grassed area surrounded by iron railings which have been removed in places. On either side of the tank are two heaps of masonry. This was the medieval stone built water-supply reservoir and Conduit House of Otford Palace.
In 1945 N wall of well chamber partially collapsed and the collapsed masonry was cleared out by local volunteers in 1973, and stacked to one side. Subsequently the well has become the source of a water supply for trout farming, using the former fish ponds. The area of old collapse along the N wall is still visible and vegetation is growing within it. There is also a bulge in E wall. Vegetation has evidently been cut back but there is still some growth. The spring water is kept clear. The traces of walling to W of wall chamber are still evident but vegetation covered. The Kentish ragstone recovered from the collapsed walling is piled in the field to the S. (9)

from the National Heritage List for England:

List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Medieval reservoir to Otford Palace called St Thomas a Becket’s Well, 173m SSE of Moat Bungalow.

Reasons for Designation
The provision of clean water has been seen as a public responsibility since early times. The earliest water-supply systems in Britain were built during the Roman period. Aqueducts supplied civil and military centres from wells, springs and impounded sources. Medieval water systems were constructed for monasteries as early as the twelfth century, and similar conduit systems were built for some medieval towns. Early supplies depended on gravitational flow from a spring to a conduit head. Conduits were pipes or channels used to convey and transport the water. Some conduits, such as that at Exeter in the 14th and 15th centuries, were laid underground, whilst others, such as Wells, ran in the street.

Despite some later alterations or repair work, the medieval reservoir to Otford Palace called St Thomas a Becket’s Well survives well. It is a significant surviving element of the medieval water supply to Otford Palace and has group value with the Archbishops Palace. The medieval reservoir will contain archaeological information relating to its construction, use and history.

History
See Details.

Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 18 December 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a medieval reservoir to Otford Palace surviving as upstanding and below-ground remains. It is situated on a gentle west facing slope, north of Well Road in Otford.

The reservoir is built of stone rubble walls and is a sunken structure with a sluice wall at the west end, served by a spring. The reservoir is broadly rectangular in shape and orientated ENE to WSW. It is approximately 10m long and about 3.5m wide at the east end but widens to about 5m at the west. The reservoir is traditionally associated with St Thomas a Becket and served as part of the water supply to Otford Palace, the medieval palace of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Partial excavation in 1951-4, indicated that the earliest surviving masonry was late medieval and that the reservoir had undergone several repairs and renovations throughout its history.

Otford Palace is a separate but abutting scheduling to the west. (10)

<1> O.S 6" 1961 (OS Card Reference). SKE47777.

<2> Arch. Cant. 70, 1956, 172-7 (plan, illusts.) (F.R.J.Pateman, etc.,) (OS Card Reference). SKE37034.

<3> A.M. England & Wales, 1961, 60. (OS Card Reference). SKE32942.

<4> F1 CFW 10-AUG-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42510.

<5> Arch Cant vol 44 1932 295 (R R J Pateman) (OS Card Reference). SKE36399.

<6> Arch Cant vol 64 1951 160 (G W Meates) (OS Card Reference). SKE36422.

<7> Bldgs of Eng W Kent & the Weald 1980 447 (J Newman) (OS Card Reference). SKE37896.

<8> Field report for monument TQ 55 NW 17 - August, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2807.

<9> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<10> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading