Water was channelled to the precinct from the
springs that stood above the abbey. This provided a pure and steady
supply of water which was gathered in one or more conduit houses
and then piped around the precinct. Fountains had two separate water
supplies, one for the monks in the eastern part of the precinct,
another for the lay-brothers in the west. Three reservoirs, or tanks,
lay in the south-east corner of the precinct, and supplied a series
of well houses. These, in turn, carried water through lead pipes
to the infirmary, the kitchen and the laver in the cloister. One
of these well-houses, known as Robin Hood's Well, still stands to
the south of the River Skell and may, in fact, be the oldest in
the country. A tank in the south-west corner of the precinct supplied
the lay-brothers in the western part of the precinct, in a similar
way.(25)
