Water Supplies

Water is an essential element in any kitchen, being indispensible as a means of sustaining life, as a cooking medium, and as a cleaning agent. An adequate water supply was therefore a major factor when choosing any location for human habitation. Medieval stomachs were more robust than those of today, however, and so a greater variety of sources could be used, especially since individual communities soon built up a resistance to particular biological contaminants unless of a particularly deadly strain. Our best description of early-Tudor opinion on water and its usage comes from Andrew Boorde:¹