 In 1278 the town was granted its first market to be held on a Thursday . In 1356 the town gained its first water supply by a deed of gift of the Abbot of Buckland . The water ( known as the Town Lake or watercourse ) came from a stream rising at Coombe Farm and flowed into a pond near Shortlands . From there it flowed in several open channels to all parts of the town . Water bailiffs were employed to protect the interests of the town and a tradition of " <unk> " took place . This was a ceremony which took place every seven years where a group of townsfolk would inspect the channel and ensure that it was not being abused . The first recorded <unk> was in 1716 . In the mid nineteenth century the water courses were used for boiling vegetables , surface drainage and emptying cesspools . A Board of Health Inspector in 1854 concluded that " typhus and other epidemic diseases are so prevalent here more so than in any other parish in the Union " . They were eventually only used to keep the streets clean and continued to flow until 1962 when the town council decided that they were not willing to pay for their upkeep . 
