Monument record 0193300000 - ST RUMBOLD'S WELL, BUCKINGHAM

Summary

Site of a medieval holy well, rebuilt in 1623 as a conduit house and restored in 2002 - A medieval well and the remains of an early 17th century conduit house situated to the south west of Buckingham, on the south side of the dismantled railway which borders the town. The well, which is now dry for much of the year, was positioned to exploit the spring line below the crest of a north facing slope overlooking the town. It takes its name from St Rumbold, grandson of Penda, the seventh century pagan Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia. A small circular structure is depicted over the well head on John Speed's Map of the County of Buckingham (dated 1610), although the foundation courses surrounding the spring are those of a square masonry building. This single storey building stood until the early years of the 20th century and, according to the Royal Commisson Inventory of 1912, displayed a date stone within a small arch. The building is known to have been a conduit house, built in 1623 by the Lambert family, who ran lead piping from the well to Castle House, some 600 metres to the north east. Scheduled.

Protected Status/Designation

  • Archaeological Notification Area: Medieval holy well of St Rumbolds Well (DBC9524)
  • Scheduled Monument 1017204: ST RUMBOLD'S WELL (DBC7110)

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Type and Period (2)

  • HOLY WELL (Medieval to 17th Century - 1066 AD? to 1623 AD?)
  • CONDUIT HOUSE (Built 1623, 17th Century to Modern - 1623 AD to 1999 AD)

Description

Dimensions - Width 4m, Length 10m.
Plan Form - Rectangular.
Scheduled: SAM 29442 (B8).
Well house of St Rumbold's well; small 1 storey building of stone rubble. Stone in E wall gable carved with initials & date 'L/WM/1623'. Doorway in N wall, a 4-centred arch, with sunk spandrels, and square head (B1,B7).
Well dug out in 1960s by Buckingham Archaeological Society (B4).
Now ruinous (B5).
At NGR (B3).
Account of St Rumwald & shrine (B6).
Well and possible circular wellhead or wellhouse shown on Speed's map of 1610. In 1623 the spring had been enclosed by a private conduit house supplying Castle House. The wellhouse survived relatively intact at least until 1913 when it was described in some detail by the Royal Commission, but by 1968 the walls had been demolished to ground level (B10).
Detailed survey of well house and adjacent earthworks carried out following removal of vegetation from the structure in December 2000. Two door jambs were identified in the northwall, a fragment of a stone column or pillar and other dressed stone was observed, and a possible length of retaining wall associated with a nearby spring was recorded. Earthworks surveyed include remains of ridge and furrow, a possible parish boundary bank and ditch, and probable quarry pits (B11).
Watching brief carried out in March 2002 during restoration work, revealed previously unrecorded internal stone steps (possibly secondary) and some constructional detail. At the time of the building's decay, its roof was of tile (B12).
2 leaflets on St Rumbold and associated sites produced by the Buckingham Society (B13-14).
Included in Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register in 2023 and 2024. The site has been the subject of heritage crime and is temporarily fenced off. The well requires vegetation clearance and consolidation, plus a planned programme of future maintence. Condition described as 'Extensive significant problems'; with the principal vulnerability identified as 'localised/limited natural erosion', and the trend as 'declining' (B15-16).


[Name SP68913352] St. Rumbolds Well [NR] (B17).
"Not far from the Castle Bridge is the 'Conduit House' built in the 17th century to cover one of the ancient wells.. dedicated to St Rumbold" (B2).
Wellhouse of St Rumbolds Well 600 yds W.S.W. of the church,dated 1623 (B1).
SP 68953354. St Rumbolds Well now filled up with rubble, and the stone well-house is roofless and ruinous (B18)
NRHE insert 2000 (B19).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.

Sources (20)

  • ---SBC21395 Aerial Photograph: Michael Farley. 2000. Oblique AP by Mike Farley. SP69003340. Yes.
  • <1>SBC20467 Bibliographic reference: Royal Commision on Historical Monuments. 1913. Historical Monuments in Buckinghamshire. Volume 2. p74.
  • <2>SBC20462 Bibliographic reference: William Page (ed). 1925. A History of Buckinghamshire (Victoria County History) Volume III. Volume 3. p475.
  • <3>SBC10450 Map: OS 1972 1:2500 MAP.
  • <4>SBC2114 Verbal communication: Ted Bull. 1982. BULL E J to PIKE A R 1982.
  • <5>SBC41 Verbal communication: A R PIKE 1990 (2ND FEB) PERS COMM.
  • <6>SBC5993 Article in serial: Bob Hagerty. 1988. 'THE BUCKINGHAMSHIRE SAINTS RECONSIDERED. 3: ST RUMWOLD (RUMBOLD) OF BUCKINGHAM', IN RECS OF BUCKS 30 PP103-110. Vol 30.
  • <7>SBC6137 Bibliographic reference: HARRISON J T, 1909, LEISURE-HOUR NOTES ON HISTORICAL BUCKINGHAM PP57-8 (REPRINTED 1972 BY PAUL P B .
  • <8>SBC13950 Scheduling record: English Heritage. 2000. SCHEDULING LIST OF INSPECTORATE OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS.
  • <9>SBC19671 Photograph: C F Wardale (Ordnance Survey Field Investigator). 1970. OS 1970 Photo of St Rumbol's Well after excavation.
  • <10>SBC19672 Unpublished document: Michael Farley Archaeology. 2000. St Rumbold's Well, Buckingham: first report on proposals for improving interpretation & management.
  • <11>SBC19224 Unpublished document: Michael Farley Archaeology. 2001. St Rumbold's Well, Buckingham: second report on proposals for improving interpretation & management.
  • <12>SBC19710 Unpublished document: Michael Farley Archaeology. 2002. St Rumbold's Well, Buckingham: Third report: restoration of the well..
  • <13>SBC22201 Unpublished document: Rodney Shirley. 2004?. The Strange Tale of St Rumbold of Buckingham.
  • <14>SBC22202 Unpublished document: Rodney Shirley. 2004. A Short Walk Through Buckingham and to the Ancient Site Nearby of St Rumbold's Well.
  • <15>SBC26583 Digital archive: Historic England. 2023. Heritage at Risk Register 2023.
  • <16>SBC26954 Digital archive: Historic England. 2024. Heritage at Risk Register 2024.
  • <17>SBC28494 Map: Ordnance Survey. 1958. OS 6" 1958.
  • <18>SBC28669 Verbal communication: C F Wardale (Ordnance Survey Field Investigator). 1970. Field Investigators Comments - F1 CFW 12-MAY-70. OS70/9/18.
  • <19>SBC27441 Digital archive: Historic England. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE).

Location

Grid reference SP 68965 33550 (point)
Civil Parish BUCKINGHAM, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (6)

  • Event - Survey: (EBC13779)
  • Event - Survey: (EBC14088)
  • Event - Survey: Earthwork and Building Surveys: ST RUMBOLD'S WELL (EBC18846)
  • Event - Survey: Earthwork and structural surveys (EBC16048)
  • Event - Intervention: Excavation: ST RUMBOLD'S WELL (EBC11853)
  • Event - Intervention: Watching brief during restoration work (EBC16150)

Record last edited

Dec 19 2025 3:33PM

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