Industrial History Online
Clerks' Well
Key Words :- well
Address :- 16 Farringdon Lane, Clerkenwell, London, Greater London, EC1
Grid Ref :- TQ 31452 82134
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.522833 , Long -0.106651
Local Authority :- Islington London Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Middlesex
Site Status :- Listed - Grade I
Historic England List No - 1298055,
Description and History of Site:-
Well and chamber/enclosure with pump spout, located in left side of basement of 16 Farringdon Lane.
The well, which gives its name to Clerkenwell, is mentioned by Fitzstephen (1174) and is described by Stow as 'curbed about square with hard stone'.
It continued to be used until the mid-19th century, when it became polluted, filled in, and built over. In 1924, it was rediscovered during building works.
Through the window can be seen the actual well and a little display, including a pump spout with a two-part plaque around it:
A.D. 1800. William Bound and Joseph Bird: Church Wardens.
For the better accommodation of the neighbourhood this pump was removed to the spot where it now stands. The spring by which it is supplied is situated four feet eastward and round it, as history informs us, the parish clerks of London in remote ages annually performed sacred plays. That custom caused it to be denominated Clerks Well and from which this parish derived its name.
The water was greatly esteemed by the prior and brethren of the order of St John of Jerusalem and the Benedictine Nuns in the neighbourhood.
This tablet which was formerly fixed on the site of the ancient Clerks' Well, viz, the pumphouse No 2 Ray Street, 119 yards westward, was fixed here as a memento of the past in 1878.
W.J. Harrison and George Blackie: Church Wardens.
Further Reading and References:-
https://londonist.com/london/history/clarks-well-clerkenwell-visit
https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/clerks-well
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Grid Ref :- TQ 31452 82134
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.522833 , Long -0.106651
Local Authority :- Islington London Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Middlesex
Site Status :- Listed - Grade I
Historic England List No - 1298055,
Well and chamber/enclosure with pump spout, located in left side of basement of 16 Farringdon Lane.
The well, which gives its name to Clerkenwell, is mentioned by Fitzstephen (1174) and is described by Stow as 'curbed about square with hard stone'.
It continued to be used until the mid-19th century, when it became polluted, filled in, and built over. In 1924, it was rediscovered during building works.
Through the window can be seen the actual well and a little display, including a pump spout with a two-part plaque around it:
A.D. 1800. William Bound and Joseph Bird: Church Wardens.
For the better accommodation of the neighbourhood this pump was removed to the spot where it now stands. The spring by which it is supplied is situated four feet eastward and round it, as history informs us, the parish clerks of London in remote ages annually performed sacred plays. That custom caused it to be denominated Clerks Well and from which this parish derived its name.
The water was greatly esteemed by the prior and brethren of the order of St John of Jerusalem and the Benedictine Nuns in the neighbourhood.
This tablet which was formerly fixed on the site of the ancient Clerks' Well, viz, the pumphouse No 2 Ray Street, 119 yards westward, was fixed here as a memento of the past in 1878.
W.J. Harrison and George Blackie: Church Wardens.
https://londonist.com/london/history/clarks-well-clerkenwell-visit
https://www.layersoflondon.org/map/records/clerks-well
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Contributor :- GLIAS Database - 17 November 2023
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © GLIAS Database
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © GLIAS Database