Description

WARE TOWN

TL3413NE NEW RIVER 829-1/11/199 (South side) Commemorative Stone at Chadwell Spring, The Meads at TL 3497 1368

II

Commemorative stone set in the ground at the head of the pool filled by the Chadwell Spring. 1728. Portland stone, with recessed inscribed panels, topped by a truncated obelisk. The principal inscriptions read `Chadwell Spring' `Opened 1608; Repair'd 1728', `conveyed 40 miles', and the upper inscription records, `This belongs to the said company 270 feet', with other distances in the remaining faces. There is also a small boundary stone of the type located along the Lea Cut (qv). The Chadwell Spring consists of a circular pool, 45m diameter, out of which a narrow channel runs north-east to join the main course of the New River. HISTORICAL NOTE: in 1738 the Chadwell Spring was supplemented by water drawn from the River Lea, a connecting cut was formed, and gauges were built to regulate the flow. The New River, constructed between 1608 and 1613 was a major civil engineering undertaking, and consisted of an open conduit, 15-20 feet wide, but of no great depth, designed to augment supply of water to London, by drawing from the Chadwell Spring between Hertford and Ware, and the Great Amwell Spring 2 km. further south-east. Hugh Myddelton, MP for Denbigh, began the work at his own expense, and enlisted the personal support of King James I to complete the 40 mile (64 km) watercourse, which led to the New River Head at Clerkenwell. The New River Company, a pioneer in venture capitalism, was formed in 1619, and continued in operation until 1904, when it was taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board, which became the Thames Water Authority in 1974. Approx 2 km of the course of the New River, and 1 km of the later connection with the Lea Navigation over the boundary in Hertford, runs through the Ware Town area. The realignment of the Ware Town boundary to extend eastwards to the A10 viaduct across The Meads brought Chadwell Spring within its area. (The Industrial Archaeology of the British Isles: Branch Johnson W: The Industrial Archaeology of Hertfordshire: Newton Abbot: 1970-: 97-101; Heath C: The Book of Ware. A Portrait of the Town: Chesham: 1977-: 56, 66, 69, 71, 104; Hunt EM: The History of Ware: Hertford: 1986-1946: 21, 37-8, 153-4; Thames Water Authority: History of the New River: London; The Victoria History of the County of Hertford: London: 1912-: 380-1; East Herts Archaeological Society Transactions: Andrews WF: Chadwell Spring: Hertford: 1901-: 7-14).

Listing NGR: TL3497913681

External Links

• Wikidata Q26515675

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