The Back

First Appearance and Context

The Back is a named area on the grounds of the Concent of Saunt Edhar. It comes into view when the aqueduct carrying water from upstream runs beside the Seven Stairs, skirts the Cloister, and then crosses the Back toward the river. During a public opening in the Mynster, avout followed the flow across this area to watch the distant mechanism engage.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

Functionally, the Back is part of the route taken by the Apert waterworks. At Apert, water is routed along the aqueduct across the Back to a cistern at the near bank of the river; its overflow turns a wheel that, via a driveshaft over the stone bridge, helps swing the doors of the Year Gate and the Decade Gate in the far bastion. In that sense, the Back is the last stretch of intramuros ground traversed by the system set in motion by the great Clock.

Relationships

• Linked by aqueduct between interior precincts (Seven Stairs and Cloister) and the river crossing.
• Near the round tower that houses the cistern and water wheel on the near bank; across the bridge lies the bastion in the outer wall where timed gates are mounted.
• Part of the general circulation used by avout moving toward the bridge during openings.

Descriptions/Characteristics

The text presents the Back as a specific named portion of the concent’s grounds near the river. Its notable feature is that the aqueduct crosses it on the way to the river crossing, placing it close to the stone bridge and associated machinery.

Current Status/Location

Active and in use during the present opening: water was seen coursing along the aqueduct over the Back toward the river as the gates opened. Otherwise, it remains part of the concent’s near‑bank grounds.