Medieval Bristol was well-supplied with fresh water, piped from springs on nearby hills to public conduits dotted about the city. Water still gushes from a mossy lion’s mouth in the wall of St John’s Church, beside the one remaining medieval city gate. Until it was moved in 1827, St John’s Conduit was an ornate little building squeezed against the opposite side of the church, on the inner side of St John’s Gate.
